Survivors, Monsters and Murderers
by jetangel02
Summary: Night Raid and the Jaegers are prepared to battle each other to the death. But are either of them ready to stand against one of the galaxy's deadliest species? Their best hope lies with a group of survivors from beyond the stars. War is inevitable and death is certain. Courage and trust are their best weapons against the Xenomorph plague. Rated M for language, violence and gore.
1. Prologue

This is my first fanfic, hope you all enjoy. Please review if you can and will be appreciated. Disclaimer: I do not own any portion of the Alien or Akame ga kill! Franchises.

Prologue : Escape or Embark

 **Atmospheric Processing Station. Hadley's Hope, LV-426 "Acheron"**

" _ **Attention. Emergency. All personnel must evacuate immediately. You now have four minutes to reach minimum safe distance."**_

Says the PA voice echoing it's warning throughout the lengthy corridors and winding walkways of the atmosphere processor as the station began to shake violently from the many explosions that were being set off within the complex structure due to the various system failures caused by an overloading reactor going critical.

Ahead of the fiery blasts ran a middle-aged woman and a young girl straddled to her side, both clinging to each other despite evident exhaustion from what they've been through. Fear was all that gave them strength to keep running. Fear of the fires raging out from the lower levels, racing along vents and conduits as it spreads towards the top of the building. Fear of the increasing explosions from all over the station and the impending final one that will annihilate everything within a 20 mile radius. But the first and foremost fear spurring them on, is of the two story high monstrosity rampaging its way through the sub level corridor in pursuit.

The two humans reached the station's service elevator and the woman, Ellen Ripley jabbed at the control switch to call the platform down. She looks up past the elevator's safety gate and watches in frustration as the platform begins its descent at a slow pace. She tries the other platform's switch in hopes the second elevator can reach her and Newt sooner.

Suddenly a shrill screech sounds off behind them, not far from where they came running. "Come on Goddammit!" bellowed Ripley while hitting her fist against the elevator controls in an effort to speed up its arrival. In response the pursuing creature sends out another furious scream from within the burned remains of her nest. A scream filled with rage, so primal but also strange and unnatural. So Alien.

Terrified and desperate, Ripley looks around for an alternate route to reach the landing platform located atop the upper levels of the station. Where Bishop and Hicks are waiting with the last dropship that can take them off planet and away from this hellish nightmare. To her left, she spots the emergency ladder that goes up along the shaft. Not wasting another second, she steps on the bottom rungs, telling Newt to hold on as she makes ready to climb. Movement out the corner of her eye made her stop her ascent and start to back away as she sees her pursuer round the corner of the sub level corridor. Lumbering into full view the Alien Queen gives a threatening hiss as she steadily approaches the retreating humans. Behind them, a mechanical hum sounds off as the elevator platform finally arrives.

In a sound of winding machinery, the lift's safety gate part before Ripley and Newt as if beckoning them to come inside for one last chance to escape oblivion. Even while hoisting Newt back on to her shoulder and dashing for the elevator, Ripley takes one more look back only to see that the Queen already came half the distance between them.

Stepping inside the lift and setting Newt down behind her, Ripley turns around brandishing her weapon to face the immediate threat. Thankfully the gate already started to close as the Queen paused a few feet from elevator to crouch under the low ceiling and smash the impeding ladder and random pipes out of her way like they were twigs. "Oh Shit!" Thought Ripley "She's too strong! The gates aren't gonna hold!".

The Queen makes ready to charge and utters another ferocious scream, Ripley quickly points her weapon out the gates' mesh opening and sprays fire with the incinerator unit. Squealing in pain, the Xenomorph staggers back from the intense heat and recovers immediately as the flames die down after the flamethrower runs out of fuel. The elevator begins to ascend, taking the humans up to the landing platform and out of the Queen's reach.

" _ **Attention. Emergency. All personnel must evacuate immediately. You now have two minutes to reach minimum safe distance. Warning. Temporal anomaly detected in the vicinity."**_

"Almost there" Ripley thought. "I don't know what Temporal Anomaly means, but it doesn't sound like it's gonna stop this place from blowing up".

Meanwhile, down in the sub levels the Alien Queen turns to face the second elevator platform as it arrives and opens its safety gates to allow passage inside. She tilts her crested head in instinctual recognition and reasoning. The humans used it to get away from her. She can use it to follow them and kill the woman, as well as recapture the girl for impregnation to rebuild her hive and brood.

After the elevator reached its destination Ripley and Newt step out onto the landing platform and looked on in horror as the dropship wasn't here. "Bishop! God Damn You!" screamed Ripley as she scoops Newt back up into her arms and began looking everywhere for a way out. Fire has now completely engulfed the processing station, leaving only the landing platform and the nearby elevator shaft untouched.

Noticing the winch still operating, Ripley peers down the shaft and sees the second platform making its way up to their level. "It can't be." Ripley tried thinking it might be something else, whether it was a glitch in the system caused by the station's reactor meltdown or maybe the control switch activated from debris. But the horrid fact remains in her head. She underestimated the Xenomorphs. The same way the crew of the Nostromo underestimated the first one. And both the colonists and marines, here at Hadley's Hope. So too, will the corporation Weyland-Yutani if they ever got their greedy bastard hands on the Aliens.

Ripley examines her weapon, the flamethrower is empty so she checks the pulse rifle. Two zeros on the ammo counter tell her that the weapon is useless as well and she remembered that she's out of grenades, having thrown the whole bandolier into the burning egg chamber in order to destroy the nest. Ripley drops the guns onto the floor and backs up towards the landing platform's safety railing, still holding Newt close to her shoulder.

The other elevator arrives and the gates begin to part, revealing the abominable creature inside. The Queen begins to unfold her legs and arms as she leaves the confines of the lift. Cornered now, with the station mere seconds away from thermonuclear explosion, Ripley resigns to her fate. Going over what she believes will be her last thoughts and prayers, her only regrets were not being there for her daughter all those years and failing Newt here and now for the same reasons. She was not strong enough, not fast enough, not brave enough to face her fears and guilt while everyone around her died. "Close your eyes baby." She tells Newt, hoping the blast will consume them before the Queen could get at them.

"Look!" Newt calls out amidst the fiery explosions and the rising sound of jet turbines. Ripley turns around to see the dark angular shape of the dropship hovering into view and about an arm's length from the railing. Bishop peers at them from the behind glass of the cockpit and presses a switch to extend the emergency boarding ladder from the ship's port side.

As Ripley raises Newt over the railing to place on the ladder, a bright blinding light shines throughout the entire processing station. "No" Ripley says helplessly. "We were so close…" she squint her eyes but all she sees is white. She tries to step forward to continue with putting Newt aboard the dropship, but she no longer feels the platform beneath her feet. Neither does she feel the heat of the fires or the rush of air from the outside blowing winds and the dropship's thrusters. The only feeling left to her was the dirt and slime that were still on Newts clothes. Her mind flashes back to the first time they met, "Can't believe there's a little girl under all this. A pretty one too." How long ago did she say that? Hours, days, weeks even? She no longer cared, somehow she felt like time itself no longer mattered. Is this eternity? Have I finally ended? She can still feel Newt with her hands and so she pulls her closer into one last embrace in this world.

"I hope I see you in the next life Newt" Ripley says into Newt's ear. "I knew you'd come" was all that Newt said in response. Behind them Ripley hears the enraged scream of the Alien Queen quickly growing distant as if they were flying away from it, or it was flying away from them...

Prologue : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback will be appreciated. If you have any questions let me know with PM. Next chapter, look forward to the introduction of Night Raid from Akame ga Kill! And the fate of Ripley and Newt.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens Franchise or Akame ga Kill! Franchise. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 1: Discovery

 **Night Raid hideout, Unknown Location**

Najenda leans back on her chair and smokes her cigarette. After looking around the assembly hall to confirm all her subordinates are present, she exhales a cloud of smoke and begins to speak. "The subject today is the growing religion that is spreading across the land, The Path of Peace."

All the members of Night Raid look at Najenda and then to each other with curious expressions. "I know that religion." said Tatsumi "They came to my village a while back. The chief even gave me a wooden statue of their god".

"They are a very influential group on the east side of the Empire." Continued Najenda "Over the years, their numbers have been growing at a tremendous rate. Thanks to that, they have been planning an armed uprising to take down the Empire. When they do, the Revolutionary Army and our allies, the Western Tribe will launch an attack as well. The Empire will then have all out war on the eastern, southern, and western fronts".

"So it's a three pronged attack" Tatsumi realized. "Even the Empire can't easily beat such an overwhelming force!" Najenda holds up her normal hand to quiet him down. "Unfortunately, the Prime Minister knows this also and has already planted a spy within their ranks. This spy, Borick has already infiltrated the Path of Peace and is now considered the Lord's right hand. As long as Borick remains in play, the Path of Peace will never begin its insurrection."

"So the only way the plan works, is for us to eliminate this Borick guy. Right boss?" asked Tatsumi.

Smiling, Najenda nods her head and then suddenly makes a frown. "But first, we have a more pressing matter to deal with. Which brings us to our next order of business. The Jaegers have stepped up their efforts in finding us. So we're going to take the fight to them this time!"

All the members of Night Raid felt their bodies tense with anticipation upon hearing this announcement. Tatsumi idly grasps his Imperial Arm, the sword form of the demon armor Incursio. "Finally" he thought. "With all that Esdeath has done, the countless lives ruined and the people she's killed, now's our chance to make her pay! And Seryu too, that psychopath is just like Esdeath, she enjoys killing in the name of Justice. One a sadistic murderer and the other a hypocrite who killed Sheele. They're worse than all the Danger Beasts that roam the land. I can't think of any creature on this planet that is more monstrous than those two rabid bitches. They need to be put down for everyone's sake."

Tatsumi then grips Incursio tightly. "But there's Wave and the other Jaegers. Wave isn't a bad person, neither is Run. And there's Kurome, Akame's younger sister." Tatsumi looks over at Akame. From her squared shoulders and furrowed brow, she seems resolved to give her all in this fight. No matter who it may be.

Najenda clears her throat to gain the attention of her subordinates once more. Once all eyes are upon her again, she resumes talking "Along with the intel, headquarters has sent us standing orders to eliminate the Jaegers' Kurome and Bols as a top priority."

Tatsumi's sighed inwardly. Not only are they not immediately going after Esdeath or Seryu, but now we have to kill Akame's sister. His gaze shifts back over to Akame. Her stance and posture did not change. Not even a hint of sadness or doubt showed in those crimson eyes of hers. "I must do the same." Tatsumi said to himself with resolve. "I'll give it my all too! Even if it means facing Wave and his Imperial Arm, Grand Chariot."

Najenda turns to face her humanoid Imperial Arm, Susanoo who hands her a map of the Empire. As she lays out the map on a nearby table, she begins explaining her plan to the rest of the group. "We'll set up two different decoys by spreading rumors and forge eyewitness reports of Akame and Mine being spotted in the town of Romary"

Najenda places her finger near one corner of the map. "And we'll do the same for Tatsumi at the opposite direction, towards the other side of the Empire" she traces her finger across the map to the opposite corner. "Once the Jaegers learn both pieces of information, they'll likely split their numbers. With Esdeath following Tatsumi's decoy and Kurome following Akame's."

Mine looks up from studying the map. "How's it certain this plan will work and they take the bait?" she asks.

"She'll definitely take the bait" Akame and Tatsumi answered together in apprehension. It's almost common knowledge about Esdeath's obsession with capturing Tatsumi and making him her lover. The same goes for Kurome wanting to find Akame, so that she may kill her older sister herself.

Convinced of the plan's likely success Mine turns to Najenda, who resumes explaining. "We'll set up an ambush at the outskirts of Romary. After we lure Kurome and the Jaegers into this gorge, Mine will-"

Suddenly, Najenda stops talking and looks up along with everyone else. Flying above them in a circle, was a messenger eagle that flew in from a nearby window. The eagle lands on the table in front of Najenda, who reaches out with her normal hand and removes the rolled up paper tied to the eagle's leg. As the eagle flies off the table and out the window it came in from, Najenda unrolls the paper and reads its contents.

Face full of concern she stops reading and addresses everyone. "Change of plans. The Jaegers will have to wait. Everyone, gather your supply gear and your Imperial Arms. We're leaving immediately."

All the members of Night Raid stood in confusion, unsure of what their leader just said until she yelled at them. "Get Going, Dammit! I'll explain on the way, but I want us heading out ten minutes ago! Now move it people, assholes and elbows!"

That jolted her subordinates into moving again. Susanoo and Akame ran into the kitchen and began filling a sack with meat and cooking utensils.

Lubbock and Tatsumi were in the infirmary stuffing another sack with medicine, bandages, surgery kits and antivenins.

Three of Night Raid's members ran towards their living quarters. In her room, Leone was gulping down alcohol straight out of a bottle she stashed under her bed, mentally kicking herself for choosing not to wear less revealing clothes that might have been able to conceal any bottle of booze she'd want to bring along.

Chelsea was in front of her mirror trying on different headphones. Satisfied with her choice she grabbed her Imperial Arm, Gaea Foundation off the top of her dresser and quickly stuffed extra lollipops into its compartment.

And finally Mine was delicately placing rifle scopes, barrel extensions and a multi sensory image visor into the metal case belonging to her gun Imperial Arm, Pumpkin. After she finished packing the case and slinging it over her shoulder, Mine began walking towards the hallway before stopping to look at a pair of broken glasses sitting on top of her dresser. Picking up the glasses, Mine stood still for a minute to reminisce about the person who owned them. "I'll avenge you Sheele, I swear it." She whispered, hoping her dead friend can hear her make that vow.

"Hey Mine! You're the last one remaining! Move your pink little ass!" yelled Lubbock from down the hallway.

Mine's face blushed deep red as she bellowed "I'm Coming, You Pervert!" causing Lubbock to retort mockingly "You should be so lucky".

With a growl, Mine pocketed the glasses and adjusted the shoulder strap to Pumpkin's case before storming out of her room to catch up with her teammates.

Meanwhile in the stables, Najenda was untying the tethers to the Air Manta, one of Night Raid's tame Danger Beasts used for aerial transport and covert insertion. The creature emits a low humming tune as it eagerly awaits the moment it can take to the skies.

With the tethers off, Najenda places her bulky prosthetic arm atop the danger beast to keep it from flying off on its own as she impatiently awaits her subordinates to make ready to depart.

Tatsumi and Lubbock were the first ones to arrive, hoisting the medical supplies securely in place aboard the Air Manta.

Then came Susanoo and Akame, dragging a bloated sack of food and cookware between them. Susanoo then used his strength to lift the sack and stow it onboard.

Before Najenda can tell them off for bringing excess rations, a drunken Leone came staggering through the doorway with an arm draped around the shoulders of an extremely annoyed Chelsea and speaking nonsense to her face.

" _Hic_. All I'm trying to say, Chelsea is that with the natural beauty you already possess, why bother with wasting all this time trying on different accessories, wearing make up and fitting into such conservative clothing? _Hic_. If you really want to get people to do what you want, you should try showing a little skin once in a while. That'll really get them wrapped around your finger. _Hic_ "

With a blush on her cheeks, Chelsea looks up and sees Tatsumi, who is busy going over the inventory near the two of them. "You know what Leone? You're absolutely right!" She answers and with all her strength, shoves Leone into an unsuspecting Tatsumi. "Why don't you give a demonstration? Show us how it's done."

Leone wraps her arms around Tatsumi to keep from stumbling, causing him to fall over with Leone on top. Startled, Tatsumi tries to stand up but ends up burying his head into Leone's bosom, her breasts completely smothering both sides of his face.

"Tatsumi. _Hic_. We don't have time for this. _Hic_. The boss wants us to gather in the stables so that we can leave for no reason. _Hic._ " Leone says while giggling.

Wanting to scold her and knowing there's no time to do it, Night Raid's leader instead raised her prosthetic arm and aimed it at the drunken fool of an assassin. With a bang she fires the detachable hand component and it reaches to grab the back of Leone's black tube top. Najenda then retracted the hand's grapple line and tugged Leone off of Tatsumi and towards where she stood.

"Why's it always you Tatsumi? I'm so jealous when you get yourself in situations like these." Complained Lubbock as he helped Tatsumi to his feet. "Tell me. How soft were they?" he asked with a grin.

"Ahem" behind him, someone began clearing her throat. Lubbock turns to see who it is, just in time to see Mine throwing her leg forward and kicking him hard in the groin.

"You Are The Worst!" said Mine as Lubbock keels over in pain.

"That's enough down there! Climb aboard or we leave you behind!" Najenda called out after tying up a semi conscious Leone to keep her from falling off the Danger Beast.

One after the other, all the members of Night Raid boarded with an Incursio armored Tatsumi carrying a groaning Lubbock, bringing up the rear. With a tug of the reigns Najenda guides the Air Manta into soaring gracefully upwards, past the opening of the stables' ceiling and towards the evening sky.

 **Above the Clouds, South of the Empire**

As the Air Manta levels off at a high altitude above ground, Najenda hands the reigns to Susanoo before stepping towards the rear where the rest of Night Raid had gathered.

"Sorry for the sudden departure everyone. But something strange has happened near the Empire's southern border and the Revolutionary Army's top brass has asked us to look into it." Said their leader and her subordinates each began voicing their concern.

"I hope you have more than Something Strange to share with us boss" began Lubbock while donning his Imperial Arms, Cross Tails. "Simply ignoring the Jaegers going on the warpath with us, isn't what I would call a smart move."

Smirking, Najenda reaches into her pocket and pulls out the rolled up paper message from earlier "It is, if even half of this information is true" she explains "Headquarters has recently learned of a series of strange phenomena occurring in a valley near the Empire's southernmost outpost."

She unrolls the paper again and begins to read. "Our scouts whom we had surveying the area for Imperial patrols, first encountered a flash of bright light."

"How bright?" Mine asked.

"Blinding. Most of the scouts temporarily lost their ability to see and the ones that could, saw night turn into day around them." Despite their leader's answer, most of Night Raid still held some doubt.

"That's not all" continued Najenda. "As the light began to fade, a large explosion set off from where the light originated from." That got everyone worried

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but how large an explosion are we talking about?" said Mine.

Najenda's face became grim. "It's at a cataclysmic scale. It shook the nearby mountain range and shattered two of its peaks. The surrounding forest had its trees laid flat or completely ripped out of the ground, roots and all. All the rivers and lakes in the area had the water completely blown dry."

Mine's eyes widened and all her comrades gasped in bewilderment. Najenda reached into to her pocket for a cigarette to light, then remembered where she was and left it alone. She sighs and kept reading

"There's been some injuries and even some casualties. Mostly from debris and a stampede of local Danger Beasts, fleeing the area."

This time it was Akame who spoke up while sheathing her katana Imperial Arm, Murasame after sharpening it. "So the place is barren now? A blast like that should have at least left a gapping hole in the ground."

"Far from it" Najenda answered. "The survivors of the scouting party continued towards the source of the explosion and found some weird structures at the site of the blast's origin."

"Structures?" asked Tatsumi.

"Buildings." his commander replied "Large, metal buildings. About a handful of them. Enough to make up a small town."

Chelsea raises her hand to get the group's attention. "Could it be another Imperial outpost? Maybe they setup a base for researching and developing weapons, to fight the Revolutionary Army?"

Then Lubbock spoke as well "If they did, something must have gone wrong and they wound up shooting themselves in the foot. That explosion could've been a weapon they were testing. Maybe even an Imperial Arm!" he said while cringing.

Then Najenda spoke again "It makes sense. All of the buildings that were seen, showed significant amounts of damage. The largest one was the worst. It looks like a giant cone with half its upper section blown off. But it's likely that the Empire has nothing to do with it."

She looks at the paper she was holding and places it back into her pocket "According to the last piece of information from this document, as the scouting party made ready to retreat to headquarters, they came across a fallen sign at the site's outskirts. It contains these words on it. HADLEYS HOPE, POP. 158."

Akame's eyes narrowed as she processed this information "It's definitely not an Imperial base." She explains "The Empire wouldn't bother giving a name to an outpost at such a remote location, nor would they advertise the amount of people they have on the premises. That place is something else entirely."

Najenda nods her head in agreement. "Which is why we're being called in to investigate. Headquarters wants answers to this mystery and Night Raid is best equipped to handle any situation that might arise. We're to secure the area, search the buildings and bring back anything that look like weapons, survivors, and intel. We have three days to get this done."

"Why three days?" Tatsumi asked.

"Because the Empire will have definitely heard about this incident. When it does, the Prime Minister will want his best men out there to investigate." Najenda answers "It would normally take five days for the Imperial Army to march its way past the mountains surrounding the site's location."

She looks down at her prosthetic arm and touches her eyepatch with her normal hand. "But if the Jaegers get involved, you can count on Esdeath to use her abilities and shave two days off that time."

Tatsumi's face began to look worried. But before he can ask more questions about the Jaegers' Commander, Susanoo calls out from the front of the Air Manta "Heads up everybody! We've just cleared the last mountain. Our destination is coming into view."

All the members of Night Raid instantly shifted their gaze over the side of the Danger Beast. What they saw next made them gasp in wonder and awe. Far below them, in a valley surrounded by high mountains lies the ruined terraforming colony of LV-426 formerly named Hadley's Hope. And its neighbor, the devastated remains of Weyland-Yutani's atmosphere processor.

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Susanoo guided the Air Manta to set down near the colony outskirts, a still forested area where the scouting party found the fallen sign. Once the landing is completed, Night Raid disembarked and began setting up camp.

"Lubbock. Use Cross Tails and setup a perimeter around all those buildings" ordered their commander while tethering up the Danger Beast. She turns to Susanoo "Su. Go with him, help him get it done as fast as you can. I want nothing coming in or out without us knowing. Come back and defend the camp, afterwards."

Lubbock readies his Imperial Arm, and places an arm around Susanoo's shoulder. Taking a massive leap, Susanoo effortlessly catapults the both of them around the colony's outlying perimeter.

Najenda then calls out to the rest of her subordinates "The rest of you assemble at the central tent when you're done."

After base camp was complete, the remaining members of Night Raid gathered inside a large tent at the center to hear their leader's mission briefing. "We'll begin our search as soon as Lubbock and Susanoo return. I want this to go fast and thorough, starting with largest building."

Najenda opens the side of the tent and points towards the distant atmosphere processor. "It's the most damaged and it's likely where the explosion originated from. It's our best chance at finding some answers pertaining to who or what did this."

Tatsumi looks out the tent's opening and gazes at the towering processing station. "It looks massive! Almost as big as the Imperial Palace." he said finally, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

Mine takes out her visor from Pumpkin's case and scans the station's outer structure. "Its got the highest heat signature compared to the other buildings."

Najenda looks at her "How hot is it?".

Mine presses a set of buttons on the side of her visor "Too hot for people to just walk in and look around without their skin melting off."

Night Raid's leader takes out a cigarette and lights it. After exhaling a cloud of smoke, she speaks "Leone. You and Tatsumi are the only ones, whose Imperial Arms allow you to survive such extreme temperatures. So it'll be you two who will check the building's interior."

"Hear that Tatsumi? It'll be just the two of us, all alone inside that sauna." Leone says in a mock seductive tone. She hugs him from the side and pressing her chest against his cheek.

Mine shakes her head in annoyance, before looking back at her visor. "I see two entryways. One's at ground level and the other is above it, close to the top."

Najenda pauses her smoking to think. She looks at Tatsumi, just as he manages to shove a giggling Leone off of him.

"Okay then!" she calls out to get everyone's attention. "Here's how we'll proceed. Tatsumi, you take the top entrance. Search the upper levels and make your way towards the bottom".

"Yes ma'am" Responded Tatsumi, as he ties Incursio's sword across his back.

"Leone, you take the ground entrance. Look for a basement level. If there is one, check and see how deep it goes."

"You got it, Boss!" Leone cracks her knuckles with enthusiasm.

Najenda turns to face the other members of Night Raid "The rest of you are with me. We're going to search the grounds surrounding the building. Akame, you take the West side. Mine, you get the North. Chelsea will be at the South, facing camp. And I'll search the East, where the entrance is."

All around her, the group began preparing for the task. Akame adjusts Murasame's sheath, tied to her waist. Mine took Pumpkin from its case and fitted it with a short barrel. Chelsea opened Gaea Foundation's compartment and took out a lollipop, unwrapped it and placed in her mouth.

Najenda finished her cigarette and threw it on the ground before stamping it underfoot. She looks up to see Lubbock and Susanoo come in through the tent's entrance.

"It's done Boss. The Wire Threads are in place" reported Lubbock. He shows the tightly wound threads, harnessed to his gloved hands "nothing's going anywhere without tripping on something." He assured.

Najenda smirked with satisfaction. "Stay here and wait for my signal. I'll light a fire, in case there's trouble. Then you and Su come and provide backup. If you detect a breach, light a fire on your end. Then me and the others will come back to you." she instructed. Then she calls out to the others "Let's go people! We haven't a second to waste!"

 **Atmosphere Processing Station, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

They hiked along the barren landscape on which the colony stood, taking notice of the ground's odd texture and the colony's metallic construction.

"How can they build this place, using so much steel?" Tatsumi wondered out loud. Then he remembered his time as Esdeath's "captive" at the Imperial Palace. "Not even the Empire has facilities built like this. As far as I seen, they've mostly been using stone."

"And look at the soil. It's not charred or blackened by the blast." Mine added. She scoops up a handful of dirt in one hand. Using her other hand to adjust the controls on her visor, she scans the dirt sample. "It's different from the forest soil back at camp, too greyish and too many different minerals in its composition."

She drops the sample and wipes her hand against her pink dress. "It's like this place is from a whole different world."

"Cut the chatter and pick up the pace!" Najenda yells back at them. "We're almost there. Then you guys can go crazy looking for clues about this place."

Tatsumi and Mine became silent and ran to catch up with the rest of their group, as they hastily marched towards the atmosphere processor.

They finally arrive near the front entrance, unable to continue due to the intense heat radiating from the station's interior. "Gosh, would you feel that heat? It's like a furnace in there!" exclaimed Chelsea as she held her hand out to test the high temperature.

Najenda walks up next to her and does the same. Frowning, she lowers her hand and turns around to address her subordinates "This is about as far as the rest of us can go. Leone and Tatsumi, you're up."

Leone steps forward and activates her Imperial Arm, Lionelle, which causes her to grow a lion's ears, claws and tail. Her short hair grows to near waist length and all her natural senses and abilities are greatly enhanced. But what matters to her now is Lionelle's trump card, Regeneration. As she makes her way through the processing station's entrance, Regeneration activates and replaces her overheated cells with new ones, thus cooling her body.

Leone looks back and waves at her comrades to show that she's fine and dashes into the depths of the station.

Tatsumi stabs Incursio's sword into the ground and summons its armor to envelope his body. Clad in the Imperial Arm's silver and white armor plating, Tatsumi crouches and leaps upwards onto the station's metal surface. Using the momentum from his initial jump, he runs along the side of the structure and enters through the opening near the top.

After those two disappear from sight, Najenda looks at Akame, Chelsea and Mine. "They're on their own now and so are we. Each of you, go to your assigned area and begin searching. Leave no stone unturned."

Akame nearly vanishes, as she makes a full sprint around towards the west end of the complex. Mine slowly follows her in a steady jog, stopping once she reached the north end.

Chelsea turns to make towards the south end, when something scraped against her boot. Surprised and nearly tripping, she looks down and sees the half buried frame of another sign post.

"Ma'am! I think I found something!" Chelsea calls out to Najenda, who approaches to see what was causing her delay.

"Let's see, what we got here. Give me a hand with this." Says Night Raid's leader as she and her subordinate began hauling the sign from out of the ground.

When they finished, Chelsea stepped back and began wiping her hands against her checkered skirt.

Najenda held the sign in front of them and started reading. "ATMOSPHERE PROCESSING PLANT. LV-426 TERRAFORMING PROJECT, WEYLAND-YUTANI CORP." And at the bottom of the sign Najenda read the words "Building Better Worlds."

"What do you think it means?" asked Chelsea. Her Commander gently puts the sign aside and frowns.

"I don't exactly know" she says finally. "But I think Atmosphere Processing Plant, refers to this building." She points towards the station. "It seems to be a vital component to whatever this LV-426 Terraforming Project is. But what the hell does LV-426 and terraforming mean? And how can you process the atmosphere?"

Chelsea looks at the sign. "Weyland-Yutani Corp. Are they like a merchant guild?" her eyes scrolled over the last words "Building Better Worlds? Could they be referring to Empire? Are they planning to overthrow it, like us and the Revolutionary Army?" She asks excitedly.

Najenda holds her chin in thought. "It's likely they're the ones who built this place. But for what reason and who exactly are they? A tribal nation? Military? Or was Chelsea right, and they're just some sort of business conglomerate? We've just started this investigation, and we're coming up with more questions than answers."

"Well done, Chelsea. I think you found us our first clue about this mystery, but I feel we've only begun to scratch the surface. Now get to the south side and search the area. We need to gather more information." Najenda tells her subordinate, who nods and starts running towards the south of the atmosphere processor. She resumes her own search efforts, hoping the other members of Night Raid are having better luck at finding something that can help shed some light on what exactly is this place.

Leone stands at the head of a stairwell leading down into the processing station's sub levels. "Well! Looks like there's a basement here after all!" she declares excitedly.

Her trek through the station's corridors was uneventful, having been unable to find anything that may look like a clue to this building's purpose or it's apparent destruction. Whatever could have been useful here was already burnt beyond recognition, whether by the explosion or the radiant heat that lingered.

She felt her luck had changed when she spotted the stairs off to the side, after her path through the corridor came at a dead end. The path itself looked like it was making its way below ground. But too much debris of fallen pipes and cable lines blocked her way, and it would've taken hours for her to clear it.

"Nowhere to go, but down!" she surmised and with a grin, used Lionelle's beast strength to descend the stairs one level a time.

Upon landing at the bottom, Leone placed her hands against an ash covered wall to steady herself. When she pulled them back, some ash came away to reveal white letters. "What do we have here?" she wondered, using the scarf she was wearing to wipe away the remaining ash.

When she finished, Leone stepped back to read the now visible lettering. "SUB-LEVEL. 03." She fidgeted. "three levels below ground, huh? I'll start here and make my way up through the other two above, to save time." She nods her head in confirmation. Suddenly she spun around to her left, using her enhanced vision to peer into the gloom of Sub Level 3's darkness. What she saw next made her drop her grin and wear a face of surprise.

"What the hell is this!?" She exclaims. The walls in front of her were covered in a thick resinous substance. Most of it was in puddles along the floor, oozing off the walls like it was melting. And it was spread out far throughout the bowels of Sub Level 3.

But what got Leone's attention earlier, wasn't the mysterious substance. It was a scent. An all too familiar and just as repulsive scent, emanating from beyond the slime covered walkways. Burnt Flesh.

"Burnt Human Flesh." She corrected herself. As an assassin from Night Raid and a member of the Revolutionary Army, Leone has smelled her fair share of charred human corpses. Most often from the remains of destroyed villages that were unfortunate enough to incur the Empire's wrath, on suspicion of harboring its enemies.

"I have to check it out. Could be important." She told herself. Determined to follow the sickening odor, Leon cautiously steps forward into seemingly organic and still unknown material.

The further Leone walked, the more dense and concentrated the material became. So did the heinous odor of burning corpses. She saw that the path she was traversing lead to a large opening at its end. Eagerly pushing forward to a less confining space, Night Raid's veteran assassin finally entered a large chamber. Her relief was short lived after she looked up to observe her surroundings and discovered the source of the smell.

"Holy Shit! What the Fuck happened here!" Leone cried out, as she tried to make sense of the hellish scene displayed before her golden eyes. All around her, plastered to the walls in grotesquely random order, were the incinerated remains of the colonists from Hadley's Hope.

Overwhelmed with disgust and nausea, Leone vomits the contents of her last drink. After expelling the bile and alcohol from her system, she raises her head to try to attempt another view of the colonists' remains. After a while of fighting her gagging reflex, she was able to overcome her initial shock.

"These must be the people who built this place. But how many are there? A dozen? Two dozen? It's too many, maybe a hundred at least. And why the hell are they stuck on the walls covered in that shit?" Leone wondered in horrified curiosity.

She approaches a handful of skeletal bodies clustered together on a nearby wall. "Different sizes and body shapes. Must be men, women and children. Didn't spare anyone, did they? Sick Fucks!" she gazed at their skulls, "Most of their mouths are wide open…they've been screaming. Was it out of terror? From being stuck down here, unable to escape the explosion?" she asked herself. Unsure of her question Leone takes one more look at the bodies around her.

Then she stops suddenly when she saw the answer was in front of her. All of the skeletons had absolutely one thing in common. "The chest portion on their ribcage are broken open, right along the sternum." Leone realized. She takes a close look at the bones of what seems to be a large adult male and checks the wound.

"Ribs are bent outwards. They weren't stabbed or gutted, something inside them came bursting out!" her eyes strayed back to the skull portion "They were screaming in agony! This happened to them while they we're still alive!" and with another sickening wave of nausea, Leone vomited once more.

"Okay, I've had it! Time to go!" with a sudden dash, Leone ran for the corridor she came in through and out of the nightmare filled chamber. "I have to tell Najenda! And the others, too! They need to know what went on in here. Someone or something got loose in this place, Hadley's Hope and captured everyone. Then, they covered them in all that snot and implanted something in their bodies to make their chest explode." It would've sounded farfetched to her if she hadn't seen the evidence herself.

A chill went up her spine when another thought crossed her mind. What if the ones that took those people are still around somewhere, looking for more victims? "Not possible" Leone assured herself. "The reported explosion should have wipe out anything in its vicinity." Then she remembered. Nothing was wiped out. A small town appeared, instead. "And anything could've came with it." She realized.

With the aid of Lionelle's powers Leone breaks into a full on sprint towards the staircase. "Gotta warn them! We don't know what we might be up against!" she says urgently, as she began climbing the stairs towards the surface.

Akame surveyed the area around her, eyeing the many pieces of debris that lay scattered across the ground. "Don't see anything useful here. Mostly just scrap metal." She looks down and clutches her stomach, as it make a low growling noise. "Haven't eaten anything since we left the hideout. Now I'm more hungrier than ever!" Akame muttered to herself.

She looks up to face the direction towards base camp. "Maybe I can sneak away from here, go back to camp, and come back with dinner. Before anyone notices?" she mulled over that idea for a moment. As the greatest skilled assassin the Empire and Night Raid ever had, slipping into camp without Susanoo and Lubbock noticing should be child's play. "But I need time to cook, and Su would most likely be standing near the food stores getting ready to fix our meals when we return."

Akame decided to give up on her schemes and bear with the hunger. "Better to eat food later, than none at all as punishment for disobeying the boss's orders." She concluded and with a sigh, turns back and continues picking her way through the debris field.

She turns over a large piece of metal that seems to resemble floor grating and looks at the prize, hidden underneath. "Looks like I finally found something." Akame thought while reaching to pick it up. Holding the object in both of her arms, she recognized some of its features. "It's some sort of firearm. And a weird one at that." She commented, turning the gun over in various angles to examine its dimensions. "I count three barrels, three triggers, there's two grips in the back and a shoulder harness. Who could've made a weapon like this?"

During her time as an assassin for the Empire and later Night Raid's, Akame became well acquainted with the concept of firearms. From the large bulky rifles used by the Imperial soldiers, to the small handheld pistols used by both common adventurers and noble folk alike. She's even learned of a few odd ones. Like the medium sized rifle wielded by one of Aria's guards the night when Night Raid first met and recruited Tatsumi. There's also the guns Seryu used, the night she ambushed Mine and Sheele and killed the latter. Mine said the Jaeger member had two guns that resembled tonfas, two guns that were fused inside her arms, and finally that last one hidden inside her mouth, which she used on Sheele to stun long enough for her wretched monster Imperial Arm to catch and devour. And lastly, there's Mine's Imperial Arm, Pumpkin. A gun capable of firing potent shots depending on Mine's danger situation and emotional state.

An idea formed in Akame's head "I should show this to Mine. She's more well versed with firearms than I am, she might have a better idea of what kind of gun this is." She looks over towards the north side of the Atmosphere Processor, squinting to see if she can spot her pink clad comrade in the evening's fading light. "Can't see her. She must be away from my line of sight, somewhere behind the buil-" Akame froze as her eyes rested on the processing station, recalling its damaged state and the similar state of the other buildings. She looks down at the weapon she's holding, then back to the station. "No way! Could this have been the cause of that explosion?" she asked herself worried.

The theory sounded doubtful, but Akame went over the facts that supported it. Whoever built this place, likely built this gun as well. Their buildings' architecture also demonstrates that they might possess technology far more advanced than that of the Empire's. And there's the Imperial Arms, some of them can cause devastation similar to the one that overtook this place. Like Pumpkin for example, all it takes is for Mine to really get herself into a critical situation and the gun's destructive potential multiplies exponentially. "If they really did make this firearm to be on par with that of an Imperial Arm. Mine should be able to determine it's capabilities." Akame reasoned. After gently slinging the weapon over her shoulder, she then carefully walked towards the north side of the station in search of Mine.

Chelsea stood up and wiped the sweat off her brow. After spending some time sifting through the random pieces of scrap collected from across her domain, she only found three boxes containing some strange items. The first two had weird tools and instruments she's never seen before and the third one had what seemed to be ammunition to some sort of firearm. Other than that, no weapons and no info. "Dammit! What a waste of time!" She groaned with disappointment and fatigue. She looks down at her dirt covered skirt and her shirt's long sleeves.

"I just had these cleaned. Thanks, Najenda! For dragging us all the way out here and having me do grunt work." Chelsea muttered. She begins to sigh and looks up towards the setting sun. "Not much longer till dark. Then Najenda would have to call off the search. It'd be too dangerous to keep poking around here at night." Eagerly awaiting the sun to go down, Chelsea examines her surroundings to review what she's found so far.

The crates she found are stacked neatly to one side. On her left, she sees the hulking wreckage she came across earlier. "Nothing in there for sure. Just some seats and more weird instruments. Also some empty boxes and crates." She looks over the exterior, wanting to pass the time. "Some sort of vehicle for sure. It looks like a flattened armored carriage of some sort. But I don't see any hitch for the horses." Her hands traced along the composite armor shell. "Sure looks tough, but I guess it wasn't enough to withstand the blast huh." She taunts, taking a look over at the processing plant. "Wait? I see something."

She walks over to the processor's heated perimeter and narrows her eyes for a better look. Off in the distance laying against the base of the station, was another vehicle wreckage. "It's twice as big as the one I found." Chelsea looks back at the first wreckage. "Big enough to crush that one. But is it big enough to cause that explosion? And where the hell are the bodies? If both wrecks had survivors, where could they have gone?" She remembered the armored carriage had its side door left open and she's sure the interior had been picked clean by someone. The other vehicle was too far and too mangled to see if anyone could have survived its crash.

"Better go and tell Najenda about my findings, then she can get Leone or Tatsumi to come and retrieve these boxes." After brushing off some of the dust and dirt off her clothes, Chelsea hurriedly ran back towards the eastern side of the atmosphere processor.

"Careful now. Easy does it." Murmured Tatsumi as he tried walking along the remains of a high platform, where he landed upon entering the station. He got careless and assumed the platform was going to support his weight, until the loose floor grating gave way beneath his feet. He quickly grabbed a nearby railing to prevent his fall and pulled himself back up. He began inching his way across like this afterwards.

"So far so good. Now if I could just reach the other side. I think I see a way down." Tatsumi crosses the last few meters of the platform and reaches the other side. He turns around to survey the area around him. "Walls are lined with all kinds of piping and ductwork. Most of it looks blown apart by that explosion from the report." Tatsumi looks up along the ceiling and sees an opening towards the darkening sky, letting in light from the setting sun. "There's where the top portion got blown off. Seems like it's facing west. I guess Akame got her work cut out for her, sorting through all that debris."

He turns to what lies ahead of him. "And so do I. Now, how do I get down from here?" Tatsumi peers into a nearby shaft that leads down, and counts the floors between him and the bottom. "There's a good number of levels. I should start with the one below me and make my way down."

After some time. Tatsumi reached the platform at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Unable to hide his frustration and disappointment, he slam an armored fist against a wall. "Dammit! Swept the whole place and nothing to show for it!" he groaned out. "Mine will never let me live this down." He can already imagine a conceited Mine standing atop mountain of treasure laughing down at him for his incompetence. He turns around as if to tell her to shut up, then he realized no one was around. "Dam you Mine! I hope you come up empty handed, then we'll see who's laughing now!"

Out the corner of his eye he sees something on the floor next to him. "What's this?" he asked himself, while picking it up. Tatsumi recognizes it as a jacket when he held it up in front of him. "Who could this belong to?" he checks the pockets and pulled out a strange card with words stamped on it. "Lieutenant First Class. Ellen Ripley." And next to the words was a photo of a middle aged woman with brown, medium length hair and dark eyes. "Quite a serious looking person" Tatsumi commented.

He turned the card over and found more lettering to read. "Weyland-Yutani Corp. Mission Consultant in service of the United States Colonial Marines Corps" the whole line of words baffled him. Mission Consultant were the only words that made sense. "It probably means this person, Ellen Ripley may know a thing or two as to what happened here." Tatsumi surmised and looks at the photo again. "At least we got a face to go on. I should get back and show it to the boss. She'll know what to do next." He places the card back inside the jacket and ties it around his waist for carrying.

Making his way to the station's ground entrance Tatsumi step into the main corridor, only to have Leone run into him after coming out from behind a nearby corner. Both Night Raid members stumbled back and looked at each other in panic before relaxing. "Hey Big Sis. You scared me there a little. Be careful next time, okay?" Leone ignores Tatsumi's request and began running, while calling back to him. "Sorry, Tatsumi! No time to explain, but we have to get out of here right now!" He runs after her to catch up. "What's wrong Sis? Why are we leaving already?" asked Tatsumi, but Leone doesn't respond this time and keeps running for the exit. With no other choice, he follows her, still wondering why Leone is acting so strangely. And why for the first time since he met her, did she look so afraid?

A loud threatening hiss reached Mine's ears, prompting her to react by raising Pumpkin to her shoulder and placing her finger on the trigger. She aims the sights towards the outskirts' forest area, were the hissing sound emanated from. "Come on. Show yourself. Pumpkin here is waiting to blow you into the next world" Mine whispered as she waited to shoot at whatever might come out from the distant trees.

A few minutes later, nothing happened. Mine lowers her weapon, puts on her visor and looks back towards the perimeter. "If you're not coming out, I'll scan you out." She raises Pumpkin again.

Armed and ready, Mine slowly approaches the trees sweeping her visor back and forth. "I thought all the Danger Beasts were cleared out of here by the explosion? Maybe it's a straggler that wandered back?" she reached the edge of the landscape and stopped in front of the forest.

Another hiss can be heard from within, growing faint. "It's moving away." Mine realized, as an image shows up on her visor. "I see Cross Tails' barrier, that Lubbock made. Why can't I see what's making that sound?" she checks her visor. It was set to home in on molecular discrepancies. Anything that didn't naturally grow there should show up on screen. "Must be capable to blending in with its surroundings on an environmental scale. Quite a tricky Danger Beast. Let's see if you can hide from infrared." Mine pressed a switch and her visor began to show thermal imaging. "Okay. Show me where you are, so I can blast you."

Mine surveyed the forest and began moving forward, making sure she didn't come close to the barrier. The last thing Mine wanted, was to become entangled in Cross Tails' Wire Threads. Then she'll be caught and stuck here while waiting for that pervert, Lubbock to come and cut her loose. And those jerks, Chelsea and Tatsumi will be there laughing at her mishap and calling her helpless. "Like Hell a genius sniper like me is gonna let that happen!" she fumed in anger "And where the hell is that Danger Beast…there!" Her visor detected a heat source, off to her right in a nearby thicket. It wasn't big. It seems to be lying down and not moving.

"Looks like it plans to ambush me. Unfortunately for you, I don't need to attack up close!" Mine steadies Pumpkin and takes aim. Her finger rests on the trigger and she stops. "Wait. It might not go down in one shot and I already outfitted Pumpkin for less powerful rapid fire. I need to scan and find a head, to set up a kill shot." Without looking away from the target, she takes her finger off the trigger and uses it to switch her visor back to scan mode. "You may not stand out, but if I see a pair of eyes I'll just shoot between them." To her surprise, an image began to appear on screen and she immediately pointed Pumpkin's barrel away from her target.

The image shows the back of a human woman, lying on her side. "A Survivor! I finally found one!" Mine slings her Imperial Arm over her shoulder and ran to the side of the person. She kneels down to examine her, and grins in revelation. "Looks like I've scored double prizes!" she looks down at two people lying in front of her, an unconscious Ripley holding an unconscious Newt in her arms.

Chapter 1: End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback will be appreciated. If you have any questions let me know with PM. Next chapter, enter the Jeagers. Heroes and Villains have a fateful encounter.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens Franchise and Akame ga Kill! Franchise. Those belong to their owners respectively.

Chapter 2 : Encounter

 **Atmosphere Processing Station, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

"Alright! Time to wake up, you two!" Mine raises up her Imperial Arm and fires three rounds into the air. Two things happened, she stumbles back from the unexpectedly large recoil from firing Pumpkin and something made a loud ear splitting shrieking noise from inside the nearby forest. "What the hell was that? Was that the Danger Beast, I was hunting before? Must have scared it off."

For good measure, Mine fires more rounds into the trees. Taking notice of Pumpkin's recoil getting weaker, she stops. "Okay. Either it's dead, or a long way from here. The others will have heard those shots and come running to see what happened. Huh?" she looks down and notices the woman and little girl haven't woken up.

"Don't tell me…" Mine quickly reaches down and checks their breathing and pulse. She stands back up and sighs in relief. "Phew! You both are still alive, at least. But I still don't understand why you won't wake up. Better wait for Najenda to get here so we can figure out what to do with you." She looks down at them again and examines to see who these people might be. The woman was tall, around Najenda's age perhaps older, with dark brown hair in a slightly messy state, and her pants and shirt were covered in dirt and sweat. The little girl was pretty young either 6 or 7, had blonde hair and her overalls had some weird slime all over it.

"Yuck! What has this kid been crawling through, to end up covered in so much snot?" Mine wondered in disgust.

"Mine!" she turns around to see who called her name, and saw Akame walking up to her from the western area. "Are you alright? When I saw and heard the shots, I thought you were under attack!" Akame said worriedly. "I'm fine Akame. Just trying to signal everyone to come here fast." Mine answered, but the crimson-eyed assassin persisted "Are you sure? On my way here, I heard something scream and you fired some more shots." Night Raid's sharpshooter looked back at the forest and began slinging Pumpkin across her back. "That was nothing. Some Danger Beast I was trying to hunt. It seemed to have gotten away though, and I was never able to see what it looked like."

"So where are the others? I thought they'd be on their way here?" Mine asked. Akame shrugged and said "I don't know. I was already on my way, because I wanted you to take a look at what I've found." She unslung a large, odd-looking rifle off her shoulder and offered it to her.

"Wow!" Mine gasped excitedly as she took hold of the weapon that was held out in front of her. "What kind of gun is this? I've never seen anything like it!"

"I don't know Mine. I was hoping you would know." Explained Akame "It was lying under some debris, within my search zone." She inches closer to her pink haired comrade and spoke in a whisper. "I had a suspicion that this might be what caused the explosion. And that it might be something the people from this place were working on. Maybe it's an Imperial Arm, or a weapon that can rival one?"

Mine holds up the firearm to eye level and begins examining it. "No. I don't think it's an Imperial Arm. If it was, it would try to sync with either you or me to see if it was compatible. Then the both of us would have felt the rejection effect. As for whether it's strong enough to rival one, that's something we'll have to test out later. Preferably in a safe environment." She shows Akame the weapon's back end and two grips "What I can say for sure, is that it's not even a single gun. It's two guns, cleverly strung together to form one. They're tied together at this end here and another at the base of each barrel. As for what they tied it with, it seems they used some sort of bonding strip."

"Why would someone tie two firearms together?" Akame wondered aloud.

"For the extra firepower, of course!" explained Mine "Two rifles as big as these, are too heavy to hold in each hand. Better to combine them and use both arms and a shoulder strap for steady aiming." She hoisted the weapon and maintained a firing stance. Akame side stepped out of the way. Anyone caught in front of Mine wielding that, would most likely face Armageddon. "Whoever thought of this, must be a genius like me. I wish I could have met him."

"Hey, you two! What's going on!? Are you both okay!?" Mine and Akame turn their heads to see their commander Najenda calling out, while running towards them from the east area. Following behind her was Chelsea, Tatsumi in his Incursio armor, and Leone in her Lionelle form. Akame noticed that Tatsumi had what looks like a jacket tied his waist and Leone seemed nervous for some reason. "We're fine Commander!" Mine called back "We just found a couple of things, we'd like to show you!"

Najenda and the other Night Raid members gathered around the woman and child that Mine found. "So, we've finally found survivors." Said their leader. "And a mysterious weapon, also. I think we're making some real progress in this investigation." Akame speaks up "But these people haven't woken up and we don't know why."

Najenda kneels down over the woman. She lays her out along her back and begins checking for wounds, signs of fever, and if there's labored breathing. She turns and does the same for the girl. "It's not poison. And there's no obvious wounds on either of them. I'd say it's exhaustion. Whatever they been through, drained their strength and made them faint." She concluded. "They may need a day or two of bed rest, before waking."

"But, Boss! What about that place I found earlier? What if we don't have that kind of time?" Leone said nervously. Mine looked at Leone, perplexed "What place? What did you find, Leone?"

Leone hesitated to talk, so Najenda chose her words carefully and answered "She's found the other people that resided here. They…didn't make it." Taking the hint, Mine solemnly abandoned her line of questioning. Instead, she turns to Tatsumi and Chelsea. "And what have you losers found on your search? Cause all I see are a bunch of empty hands!" she taunted.

"Oh. Just a few boxes, full of treasure." Chelsea answers nonchalantly. Mine looks at her in disbelief. "Chelsea's found three crates." Najenda corrected "Two of them contained odd tools and equipment. The third was stuffed full of ammunition to some kind of weapon. Maybe to the one you're carrying Mine." Mine thoughtfully looks down at the gun combination she's still holding. She then looks up at Tatsumi, and bursts out laughing after seeing the jacket tied around his waist. "What's that Tatsumi? Did you do a little thrift shopping while searching inside the building. I gotta say, that jacket is a small improvement over that dumb vest you always wear!" she said jokingly.

Tatsumi ignored her, and approached the unconscious woman lying in front of him. He deactivates Incursio's armor, and it dematerializes off of him. As he bends down to observe the woman's face, his own face lit up with recognition.

"Boss! I've seen this woman before!" Tatsumi reveals. He unties the jacket from his waist, reaches into its pocket and hands Najenda the card he pulled out. Night Raid's leader began reading the information on both sides of the card. She looks down at the woman, back to the card, and makes a smirk. "Great work, Tatsumi! You just confirmed that this woman, Ellen Ripley might be just the person who can explain all that happened here."

Mine frowns after seeing Tatsumi receiving praise. "Why's that Ma'am? Who exactly is this woman? Ellen Ripley, I mean."

Najenda slips the card in her pocket and lights another cigarette. She looks towards the west at the setting sun and clears her throat to speak. "I really don't know Mine, but I have a hunch that Ellen here might have our answers. I'll explain more back at base camp. Right now we need to gather our findings and bring them back with us. Akame, you and Mine stay here and guard these two. Leone and Tatsumi. The two of you will accompany Chelsea back to her sector and start moving those crates to camp. I've lit the signal fire, so Su and Lubbock should be here momentarily. Get Su to help you out. Once you're done, come back here with stretchers to carry Ellen and the little girl." She reaches her normal arm out to Mine expectantly and the genius sniper reluctantly hands her leader the combination firearm. "I'll hold onto this and keep it safe, we don't exactly know the kind of devastation this gun can unleash. Lubbock and I will scout near the other buildings and find a way inside, for tomorrow's search. Now move out everyone! I want us all back at camp by nightfall."

 **Night Raid Base Camp, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

The following morning, all of Night Raid's members gathered in front of the camp's central tent. Inside the large tent, they placed the Colony sign and Atmosphere Processor sign on one side. The other side held the three crates that Chelsea found. The side opposite the tent's entrance had Ripley's jacket draped over a locker that held the weapon, Akame found. In the center rests Ripley and Newt on small sleeping cots. Suddenly Ripley jerks herself awake and lets out a small yelp. She looks around, panicked and disoriented.

After seeing no immediate threat, Ripley began to slow her breathing and try to collect her thoughts. "Where the hell am I? What the hell happened?" she concentrated hard to remember. To her horror she was able to recount past events.

("The Nostromo, The Alien, the death of her crew, the ship's destruction and her elimination of the creature.") Ripley stifles a sob, as she went over recent events. ("57 years, drifting through space. The passing of her daughter, her company's inquiry and the Colonial Marines' expedition to the Hadley Colony on LV-426.") Finally, she recalled her last moments. ("The Aliens overran the Colony, Newt was the only survivor. The Marines fought the Aliens, both sides suffered heavy losses and Newt was captured. I went to rescue Newt and destroyed the Alien nest. Their Queen chased us, we were about to escape on the dropship…") And that was all, Ripley can remember. Everything after that was blank.

"Mmm…mm" Ripley looked beside her and saw Newt laying in a cot right next to hers, mumbling in her sleep.

Ripley got up and sat at the edge of her cot, and began to calmly study her surroundings. "I don't know where we are, but at least we're alive. We made it somehow." She looks down and noticed her clothes were gone and that her and Newt are wearing large robes. She also smelled soap and shampoo coming from the both of them. "Someone stripped us, bathed us and laid us here to rest." She found her clothes, folded neatly in a box beneath her cot.

After slipping into her pants and shirt, Ripley noticed her jacket was hanging over a metal locker at one end of the tent. Her heart skipped and her blood ran cold when she remembered the last time she seen that jacket. It was dropped onto the Atmosphere Processor's elevator platform, during her attempt to rescue Newt. She walked over to a side opening of the tent and peered out. "Oh No!" she quickly bit her fist in an attempt to keep her screams from escaping. In the distance, visible by the first morning light, stood the terraforming colony of LV-426.

Ripley turned around and made ready to grab the still sleeping Newt and find somewhere to run. While doing so, she shifted her gaze at the tent's entrance and saw several people standing outside the loose flaps. She instinctively froze and after seeing no one notice her, crept to one side of the tent to avoid being seen. "Who are these people?" she wondered. "They can't be a rescue team, no one's wearing any Marine uniform. And they aren't Weyland-Yutani, otherwise, me and Newt would've been in hyper sleep chambers aboard a starship bound for Earth. Not sleeping here, in some cozy tent."

In the end, Ripley decided it didn't mattered. As long as they have a way to get off planet. "They wouldn't have believed what I told them anyway. Might as well persuade them with something else." She convinced herself, as she began to quietly search the tent for a weapon. She instantly recognized the boxes that the Colonial Marines used for storing equipment, sitting across from where she stood.

Ripley took another look at the entrance and can see the people in front are busy listening to some woman at their center speaking to them. The woman was tall, lean, had short silver hair, one purple colored eye with a patch on the other, wore a black business suit and a mechanical right arm.

Seeing an opportunity, Ripley quickly stepped towards the boxes and began opening them. "Come on, please be carrying a gun. I'll take anything, a pulse rifle, flamethrower or both!" the first box contained pulse rifle ammo, with half the box filled with loose 10mm explosive tip caseless cartridges and the other half in preloaded 99 round magazine clips. Atop the clips sat a small box of M40 grenades, about two dozen in total. It was enough ammunition to take on an army. "Terrific. As much ammo as I can carry. Now I just need a pulse rifle to go with it." Encouraged, she opened the second container. It was holding support equipment. Two motion trackers, two shoulder lamps, two portable welding torches, a portable terminal, four communication headsets and a long range transmitter. "These could come in handy, but not what I need right now!" She opened the last crate and her heart sank in disappointment. It contained only medical kits, emergency rations, a box of marking flares, and a medical diagnostic unit that came with its own vaccine synthesizer and surgery equipment.

"Fuck! No guns, here! Where else?" Ripley muttered. She looked up and her eyes drifted back to her jacket, hanging on top of the locker from earlier. She takes out one of the welding torches from the box and moves towards the locker…

Mine was trying hard to pay attention to Najenda's instructions, and not doze off. Next to her, Chelsea lets out a long yawn. "Something, the both of you would like to share with us Chelsea? Mine?" Scolded their leader.

Mine rubs her eyes and answers defiantly. "Yeah. Why did you stick me and Chelsea on guard duty, last night? I got bags under my eyes, for not getting enough sleep!" Chelsea finishes yawning and turns to her "That's because I caught you, trying to break into the Imperial Arms locker. Where we kept the weapon, found yesterday. You were supposed to be helping me and Akame give the survivors a bath and wash their clothes." Najenda bumps her fist against Chelsea's head, berating her "And YOU were supposed to come to me, when there's a problem! Instead, you tried to blackmail Mine into covering your shift of guard duty!"

Najenda pulls back her hand and massages her temple. She turns to her other subordinates "Let's go over this again. Today, we're searching the buildings that lie near the Atmosphere Processing Plant. We'll be entering through an entrance, located on the south side that me and Lubbock found yesterday. We'll also be going in as a group to search the ground level. If we find a basement and upper floors, we'll split into pairs and take different paths. Akame and Tatsumi will go below, while Leone and I will search topside."

"Excuse me, Ma'am? What about me and Chelsea?" Mine asks. Najenda puts on a smirk and answers "The two of you are staying right here and watch the camp and the survivors. Lubbock and Susanoo will be going with us this time. " Before Mine can protest, her commander kept on speaking "It'll be tight quarters inside the buildings. And you and Chelsea aren't suited for close quarters combat. Plus, we could use the extra muscle. I'll post Lubbock and Su outside the south entrance. If you or Chelsea encounter any trouble, light the signal fire and Lubbock will pull on Cross Tails' thread tied to me to call us back and help you. If I tug the thread to signal for backup, he'll light a fire on our end. If you see the fire, Mine will come join us. Chelsea, I want you here at all times guarding that woman and child." Chelsea nods and smiles inwardly, thinking that she landed the cushiest job to have."

Najenda turns back towards the other members of Night Raid "Is everyone ready to go?" Lubbock raises his hand to get her attention "Boss. I think we should bring the weapon with us, so Mine doesn't try to take it out of the locker and play with it." Tatsumi speaks up as well "Yeah. We don't know yet, what that gun can do. And Mine was already caught red handed, trying to get it."

Night Raid's leader looks down in thought to ponder their request. Meanwhile, Tatsumi and Lubbock both throw Mine the middle finger and stuck out their tongues. Mine bites her lip in frustration, knowing her plans have been foiled.

Najenda reached into her pocket and produced a small key "Chelsea, go inside the tent and bring out the rifle. Check on the woman and little girl, while you're at it." She hands her the key and Chelsea enters the tent, holding a hand over her mouth to stifle another yawn. "Lubbock, I'm entrusting the weapon to you. Hold on to it and no matter what the circumstances are, don't ever use it."

 _Click…_

Akame's sharp ears heard the cocking sound of a firearm being locked and loaded. The other Night Raid members all heard Chelsea gasping loudly "WAIT! DON'T SHOOT!"

Everyone came rushing into the tent. What they saw next made them stop in their tracks. Near the entrance stood Chelsea frozen in place, looking fearfully at the woman survivor they brought back. The woman was holding the weapon in her arms and was aiming towards the glamorous assassin.

"Who the fuck are you people!? And what the hell are you doing here!?" Ripley yelled at them, keeping her pulse rifle trained on the young woman in front of her. The others began to spread out to surround her, but she switched to the grenade launcher and used the pump-action to chamber a grenade round. _Ch-chk!_ They stopped immediately and watched her cautiously. Then the woman with silver hair began talking. "Calm down. We don't want to hurt you. We mean you no harm."

"No Shit!" Ripley retorted in a sarcastic tone. She quickly glances around, to assess the threat level. Two of them carried swords and only one of them has a gun. Everyone else was bare handed.

"I don't want to hurt anyone either. So just take us to your ship, and let's get the hell out of here! We need to get away, before They come!" cried Ripley. The strangers looked at each other with confusion, and the silver haired woman spoke again "We don't have a ship. The nearest port and ocean are about a thousand miles from here. And who is coming? The Imperial Army? They shouldn't reach this place for another day or two." Ripley was on the verge of panicking as she hears this information. "What are you saying? LV-426 has no ocean and I'm not talking about some damn army. I'm talking about the Aliens!"

"Ripley?" Newt woke up amidst the talking and rubbed her eyes awake. She looks over towards Ripley and then behind to see strangers around her.

"Newt! Get behind me! Quick!" urged Ripley. Too late. In the blink of an eye one of the strangers, a young woman wearing a black sleeveless top and matching miniskirt with long black hair and crimson eyes, drew her sword from its sheath and laid the flat of the blade on Newt's shoulder. "Let Her Go!" bellowed Ripley, but the swordswoman ignored her demand and looked at silver haired woman, wearing a questioning expression.

"Akame! Stand down!" ordered Najenda, and her subordinate quickly withdrew Murasame away from the girl. "I meant, what I said." She declared "You're safe with us. If we wanted you dead, you wouldn't have been sleeping here in this tent. We just want to talk. There's questions we're hoping that you might have answers to."

Ripley looks at the group's leader and then at Newt. "The girl and this gun stays with me at all times. That's my only condition. Then I'll tell you everything you want to know." She looks at everyone to see them eyeing their leader, who is thinking about the proposal. "I'm desperate for you to understand the danger, we are all in!" she added.

Najenda looks up and makes her decision "Deal." Akame steps away from the girl, who jumps off her cot and runs straight to the woman survivor and hugs her by the waist. The woman lowers her weapon and everyone starts to relax.

"I still don't know who you people are, or how you came here. But I'm telling you again, we must leave this place and get as far away as possible." Insisted Ripley.

"And I'm telling YOU again, you're safe here with us. My team and I are very much capable of handling any dangers that come our way." Assured Najenda. "I can guarantee your safety"

"Another person told me the exact same thing, a short time ago." Argued Ripley. "Him and his team died, not long after that. There is no such thing as handling the Aliens! You kill them, before they kill you and you run away!"

Najenda was starting to get annoyed, so she stepped back towards the tent's entrance flap and opened it. She beckons for Ripley to come outside. "I don't know anything about these ALIENS, your talking about. But in the 14 hours we've been here, none of us have come across any animals, or Danger Beasts. Come and see for yourself."

With Newt still clinging to her side, Ripley slowly walks out of the tent and into the early morning light. She instantly recognizes the Colony laid out before her. Everything else stunned her with disbelief. Their surroundings was a vast valley wilderness with high mountains encircling it. Around them was a dense green forest below a bright blue sky with a warm sun shining down. She can no longer see the barren rocky terrain or the dark stormy sky, that made up the qualities of planet LV-426. And every breath she takes, came with a fresh scent of pine. She wanted to call the scenery beautiful, if it didn't confuse her so much.

"Where are we? Why aren't we on the same planet anymore? How the Fuck did we get here?" She asked.

Najenda looks at her and gently places a hand on her shoulder. "Come back inside. We have so much to talk about." Ripley quietly nods and with one last view of the scenery, leads a bewildered Newt back inside the tent.

"Okay! I think introductions are in order!" Najenda exclaims enthusiastically. "My name is Najenda. I'm the leader of this band of…misfits." All the members of Night Raid shook their heads in response to their leader's lousy attempt to cover the group's identity.

Ripley raises her hand to get their attention. "Look. It's pretty obvious that you want to keep your identities hidden. But let me assure you that it's not necessary to hide it from me. You gave me reason to trust you by finding and taking us in. Now allow me the opportunity to return the favor and place your trust in me as well." Taking the initiative, she stands in front of everyone and began introducing herself. "My name is Ellen Ripley. I'm an employee of the corporation Weyland-Yutani who was attached to a platoon of United States Colonial Marines, to serve as an advisor in their investigation of a possible Xenomorph infestation on the terraforming colony of planet LV-426."

She lost them. Every member of Night Raid looked at each other in confusion again. One of then spoke up in an irritating know it all tone "Duh! We already know your name. What we don't know is whatever the rest of that bullshit you said, means." Ripley studied the girl that made that remark. The girl was young, short, had long pink hair, tied into twin tails and wore a pink dress, complete with a pink shawl and cardigan. "Oh. Great." Ripley thought "the Smart Ass of the bunch. Every group has one." Ripley saunters up to her and lowers down to see her face to face.

"Well, that's why you have to pay attention and listen to what I say, Sweetie." Ripley explained in a mock nurturing tone "Otherwise, you won't live long enough to see your pubes grow in." The girl blushed a deep red. The two young men beside her started snickering, which quickly became full on laughter. Suddenly the girl reached for her firearm, only to see it fly out of her hands as Najenda used her prosthetic hand to hook the weapon and reel it towards her. "Mine! Cool it!" warned Night Raid's leader. Mine began to argue "But she started it!"

"You were asking for that one." Countered Najenda "Now, fix your attitude or I'll put you on latrine duty for the rest of this mission." The genius sniper quickly stopped talking and turned back to Ripley with a loathsome expression.

Najenda turned to speak to Ripley "Miss Ripley, please understand. We're still having a hard time grasping the concept of your vocabulary." Ripley just shrugs and says. "I'll explain the finer details as we go along. Also, you can just call me Ripley. No one ever calls me Miss, or Ellen for that matter. And how did you come to know my name in the first place?" Najenda reaches into her pocket and hands Ripley a small card.

"This is my ID card. It was in my jacket pocket, when I last saw it. How did you guys find it?" asked Ripley. "That would be thanks to Tatsumi, our newest member. He and another of ours, went inside the atmosphere processing plant and found it laying in a corner." Answered Najenda, as she turned to one of the men who laughed at Mine, and motioned for him to step forward. The youth had brown hair and green eyes. He carried a sword on his back with some chain links, hanging off the pommel. He also wore a white jacket with a tan vest underneath and black pants.

When he approach Ripley to offer a handshake, she can see in his motion that he's definitely new and inexperienced. "A true Green Horn" Ripley thought as she shook his hand. "A firm grip, and a little too shaky. A Cherry for sure. But one with great potential."

"I must be making you nervous. Relax, kid. Hard work and dedication will make a fine gentleman out of you." Said Ripley, as she let go of Tatsumi's hand. She turns to Mine and adds "At least it'll be sooner than Little Miss Pink Eye over there becoming a proper lady." Mine started steaming. "Thank you Ma'am." Said a grinning Tatsumi "Don't forget, it's just Ripley" she insisted.

Tatsumi looks down in embarrassment and sees a shy Newt, hiding behind Ripley. "And who might you be? Newt, was it? I'm Tatsumi, nice to meet you." Ripley steps aside and encourages her "Go on Newt. You don't have to be scared of these people."

Newt slowly walks up to Tatsumi and after a while, finally speaks. "I like your vest. You also remind me of Mr. Hicks." Flattered, Tatsumi rubs the back of his head, happily saying "Thanks". Behind him, Mine groaned and rolled her eyes. Najenda looks at Ripley with a raised eyebrow "Mr. Hicks?" "Hicks is a friend of ours, who saved our lives more than once. He's a really kind person. I'll explain more when we start our discussion." Said Ripley.

Newt looks down at the mended overalls she's wearing and looks back up at Tatsumi. "Thank you for fixing my clothes." He shakes his head and apologize "Sorry. I can't take credit for that one. Lubbock here, deserves all the praise." With a wave of his hand, he invites the other young man over.

The person standing in front of Ripley and Newt had green hair, green eyes, wore goggles and a fur rimmed jacket with jeans, and carried himself in a cool relaxed manner "It's nice to meet you ladies. My name is Lubbock." Ripley looks him over. "You're the guy who mended our clothes? Quite a handy skill you have there." Lubbock holds up both his hands to show them covered with odd looking gloves and bundles of silvery thread tied to them. "It's just a small trick, done by my Imperial Arm here." Ripley looks back at Najenda "Imperial Arm?" "I'll explain it in due course." She responded.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Lubbock by the shoulders and shoved him towards the back of the crowd. In his place stood a voluptuous woman with yellow medium length hair, golden eyes, and a revealing outfit. "Hi there. My name's Leone. I was the other person, who looked inside the processing plant. I saw what was down in Sub Level 03." Ripley gave her a somber look. She checked to see Newt wandering around the tent, and replied "Then you should know that's exactly how we'll all end up. If my fears are true and the Aliens came to this place along with us, then your whole world is doomed." Leone solemnly nods in agreement "I'm one of the veteran members of this group. I'll convince my friend to help me argue your point to our boss, so that we may leave sooner." "And who's your friend?" asked Ripley.

"Akame!" Leone called out to her teammate who was keeping an eye on Newt, as the little girl walked towards the back of the tent. Akame turned to Leone and walked up to her and Ripley. "You expect me to believe you're friend here, can help convince Najenda? She was about to cut Newt's head off!" Ripley argued.

"And you, were about to blow us all to smithereens with your gun!" interjected a young woman, whom Ripley first met and aimed the pulse rifle to before. "I'm Chelsea by the way." She introduced herself, and Ripley sized her up. She had long reddish brown hair and wore a headset, a white long sleeve shirt beneath a black vest, and a checkered skirt. Ripley could have imagined her as a famous pop singer, back on Earth. "I wouldn't have shot you. I was trying to save all of you." Ripley said defensively. "You were acting hysterical, and Akame did what was necessary to stop the situation from escalating." Chelsea said indifferently "In this world, it's kill or be killed. Everyone here is fighting a nation that has thrived on those principles which made it corrupt and evil, and we're trying to make it a better place. And I have a feeling, that you also want a world in which people can live happily and free."

Ripley looks at everyone thoughtfully "It seems I have a lot to learn about all of you. Alright. Who's left that hasn't been introduced yet? I like to start exchanging information." After that inquiry, a tall man with a pair of horns on his head and wearing a white robe, stepped forward and made a bowing gesture. "My name is Susanoo and I'm-"

"Why is there a red disc on your chest? And why is everyone in their underwear?" Ripley can hear Newt behind her, asking weird questions. She turns to look at her and noticed on her forehead, was some sort of headpiece that resembled a large metal eye.

"Newt? What is that and where did you find it?" asked Ripley. "Back there. In an open metal box." Newt confessed. "Take it off! You don't know what that is, or what it can do!"

"Ripley, wait!" Najenda places a hand in front of her "She's not in any danger, so humor me. If she can use that Imperial Arm, it'll be much easier for you to protect her." Intrigued, Ripley stands behind Night Raid's leader.

"Now, Newt. Tell me, how do you feel?" Najenda asked. "A little tired, but it went away just now." Newt replied. Najenda place her normal arm behind her back "Okay. Now try to guess how many fingers I'm holding up behind me. Look at where my hand is and focus on it." Newt stares at her and concentrates. "5, 2, 3, 5, 1, 4, you keep moving your fingers and changing the numbers." "That's alright, we're done with it. Please, tell me how you feel now?" Newt shrugs and answers "The same. I keep feeling a little tired and the feeling quickly goes away." Najenda kneels in front of Newt and looks into her blue eyes. "Okay, Newt. I want you to look inside my head and try to see what's in my mind." Newt closes her eyes and concentrates. Suddenly images began coming into view.

("A young woman who resembles Najenda, turns down a marriage proposal offered by a handsome young man. Another image shows the same young woman standing in front of a burning village. Mountains of dead bodies surrounded her and at the center of it all, stood another woman. She had long blue hair, a white caped uniform and her eyes were blue too. But her eyes had something else also, they looked evil and cruel. It's as if she was enjoying the destruction and suffering that was happening all around her. Last image shows young Najenda looking up from below a hill, at the blue haired evil-looking woman, who conjures hundreds of shards of ice with a wave of her hand. She sends the ice shards flying through the air and into the bodies of people who where near the young Najenda. One of the shards comes at Najenda and pierced her right eye-")

Newt opens her eyes and lets out a scream. Ripley was instantly holding her, trying to calm her down. "It's okay Newt! You're alright! Najenda! I thought she wasn't in any danger!" she complains. "I'm fine Ripley!" assured Newt "You were the one I was seeing, right Najenda? You worked with really Bad People, who tried to hurt you when you ran away."

Najenda looks down at her prosthetic arm "You don't know the half of it." She looks back at Newt "Okay Newt. Last one, I promise. You get to return the favor for scaring you." She signals all of Night Raid to gather in one spot. "Gaze upon us and think about what you fear the most. Show us what one of these ALIENS look like. Concentrate Newt." The little girl looks at Ripley, who nods her approval. "Do it, Newt." she closes her eyes and thinks hard about the giant monster that chased her and Ripley through the processing station. She can hear everyone in front of her, let out a multitude of frightened gasps.

All the members of Night Raid staggered back, as they gazed in horror at the creature in front of them. It was big, maybe two or three stories high. But crouched, so as not to hit the tent's ceiling. Its body was an exoskeleton, black and insect-like, with slime running all over. A long tail uncoiled from behind, at its end was a large blade. Spikes ran in pairs along its back and it had two grotesquely muscular pairs of large and smaller arms. Each came equipped with razor sharp claws. And lastly was its massive crested head, resembling a broad, reinforced shield. Beneath the shield-like head, extended a large mouth which parted to let out a foreboding hiss. Afterwards, the monster opened its fang-filled jaws even wider to produce a loud earsplitting shriek. At the same time, a second set of jaws with sharp teeth shot out of the primary mouth, in a ferocious snapping motion.

Akame drew Murasame from its sheath and assumed a battle stance. Beside her Tatsumi and Leone transform into Incursio's armor and Lionelle's beast form, respectively. Chelsea was cowering behind Susanoo, who has brandishing a polearm with sickle blades at its end. Mine began calling at Najenda to return Pumpkin to her, but the leader of Night Raid stood in front of everyone with her arms spread and shouted "Stand Down, All of You! It's just an illusion! That is still Newt in front of us!" As if on cue, the image of the giant Alien creature faded into nothing. Revealing a worn-out Newt leaning on Ripley, at where it once stood.

"What in the Hell was that thing!?" exclaimed Mine "It sounded just like the Danger Beast I heard, when I found you two." Ripley immediately turned to face her "Where and when did that happen!? Did you see it!?" Mine shook her head "No. It ran away when I shot at it. After finding you passed out behind some bushes."

"Ripley!?" Newts calls out to her with a frightened expression, but Ripley places her arms around her reassuringly. "Don't worry Newt. I think we're safe for the time being." She looks at the others "Am I right?" Lubbock spoke up and held up his gloved hands again "I've set a barrier around this whole area. Nothing goes in or out without me knowing."

Ripley walks over to one of the supply crates and pulls out a motion tracker and switched it on. "The same here. This device can sense movement within a kilometer. Unless those things can tunnel underground, nothing's getting the drop on us anytime soon." Nobody bothered to put away their weapons. "It's about time we tell each other everything. When we're all done, I'm gonna ask again that we leave this place. Otherwise, we all die horribly."

Every member of Night Raid quietly gathered around Ripley. "Newt. Can you use that headpiece and look inside my memories, and show everyone here what you see?" "She should be able to, Ripley. Her demonstrated abilities show that she has 100% compatibility with Imperial Arm, Spectator." Explained Najenda. With ready determination, Newt nods her head. Ripley turns to Najenda and the others. When she sees everybody settled down and listening intently, she began to speak "It all started on the starship, USCSS Nostromo when my crew and I were pulled out of hypersleep and diverted off course to investigate an unknown broadcasting signal…"

 **Jaegers' Quarters, Royal Palace, Capital of the Empire**

Esdeath was busy admiring Tatsumi's hand drawn face in her little art book, when Run entered the room carrying a portfolio with papers inside. "Ma'am, new orders from the Prime Minister. And there's some intel on the recent flood of rumors, circulating throughout the Empire."

The General makes a frown and slowly closes the book and puts it away. She takes the portfolio held out to her and began looking over the pages. "Run, gather the Jaegers. Have them meet in the conference room immediately."

Some time later, the doors leading into the conference room swung open. The first ones to walk in was Run, followed by Wave and Kurome who was busy munching on a bag full of sweets. Bols came in after, carrying his daughter and with his wife walking by his side. He gives his daughter one last hug and tells them both to go back home. Everyone began taking their seats, when the last arriving member came bursting through the doorway.

"Greetings, Fellow Warriors of Justice! Seryu Ubiquitous, Reporting for Duty!" Seryu raises one of her metal arms and salutes. Her Imperial arm, Koro does the same. "How soon can we go out and dispense Justice on those lowly criminals of Night Raid?" "If you hurry and take your seat Seryu, I can explain the details sooner. We're against the clock on this one." Esdeath calmly answered and with a cheerful grin, Seryu sat down next to Bols

The leader of the Jaegers unfolds a map and places it on the conference table "Like I just told Seryu, we don't have a lot of time to waste so I'll just tell the important bits. The Imperial Army has been mobilized to investigate a disturbance near the Empire's southern border." Wave raised his hand and asked "Is it the Revolutionary Army? Are they mounting an attack?" Esdeath shrugs and said "Don't know. All we have are eyewitness accounts from the local garrison, claiming they saw a bright flash of light and a thunderous explosion shook the ground and devastated the nearby mountain range." She continues talking "An Expeditionary Force will make its way through the wilderness and establish a forward base, just North of this mountain" she points to a certain area on the map. "Its peak has been blown off as a result of the explosion and it should make it easy for our forces to traverse it and reach the valley beyond. We the Jaegers, are being sent out there as well to assist in the investigation."

"But first…" Esdeath traces her finger upwards along the map to highlight a widespread portion. "We've been getting reported sightings of a Danger Beast, flying around this area here. The reports go on to describe the creature as large and dark in color. With a long streamlined body and a broad shape towards the front." This time Run was the one to speak up. "You think it's Night Raid? Riding atop their Air Manta, they been rumored to have?" Esdeath throws him a smile and answers "It seems likely. The Danger Beast has been circling several small towns and villages before making it's way towards the Capital."

"But why expose themselves already? Why let so many people see them, before making their way towards us?" Wave argued. His Commander smirked and replied "It's probably one of Najenda's cheap tricks to draw us out. Regardless, we'll know for sure when we see it for ourselves. The most recent sightings places it here, south of the fortress Shisuikan. If it continues on its current flight path, it should reach the fortress within the next day. We're riding out there today to head it off."

"Yes, Commander! Justice always fights Evil head on! Let them just try and lay a trap for us, it will never work with Justice in our side!" claimed Seryu enthusiastically. The others Jaegers sighed and shrugged their shoulders. Esdeath kept on speaking "We'll launch an attack on it to bring it to the ground. If it turns out to be Night Raid, we'll eliminate them in an all out fight. If it's just a random Danger Beast, we'll just kill it for distracting us and continue riding to join with the Expeditionary Force." All of her subordinates nodded to confirm they understood the plan. "Then gather your weapons and Imperial Arms and meet me at the stables. We ride out as soon as possible!"

Esdeath stood by the horses with one hand on a horse's reigns and the other resting on a large rapier hanging by her side, waiting for the other Jaegers to join her. Run and Wave were already here with Mastema's wing discs tied to Run's shoulders, and Grand Chariot in its cutlass form strapped to Wave's hip. Kurome was in her room gathering more sweets into her bag. She reaches for her katana Imperial Arm, Yatsufusa in its sheath and ties it to her waist. "Wait for me Big Sis. I'll be seeing you real soon." She says aloud and steps out the door. In a nearby room, Bols takes one last look at a photo of his wife and daughter. "Wish me luck. I'll be back as soon as I can." He says, before placing the framed picture on a shelf and picking up his flamethrower Imperial Arm, Rubicante and strapping its harnesses over his shoulders. He walks out the door and follows Kurome towards the stables.

In an armory behind Dr. Stylish's lab, Seryu was going over inventory of all the Judgment of the Ten Kings, left for her to use. After confirming that she was fully stocked, a malicious grin takes form across her mouth. "Just wait Night Raid! I'll have Koro devour each and every one of you right down to your feet!" beside her, Koro also makes a sinister grin showing rows of cruelly sharp fangs. "Koro! Load Up!" Ordered the auburn haired murderer, and the biological Imperial Arm enlarged his head and opened his expanded mouth expectantly.

Seryu began placing various types of weapons and equipment into the gaping maw. A large drill, an anti- tank rifle, a hook-shot, a spiked ball and chain, a metal arm with a radar scope attached to it, another arm with a missile pod attached to it, a large blade, four missile launcher turrets, and a giant heavily armored missile which Koro had to use his expanded arms to help shove into his mouth. Koro then closed his mouth and returned to his normal small size. Seryu rubbed the back of her head thoughtfully before picking him up and walked towards the lab's exit. She took one last look at the lab to reminisce about the man who once worked in it. "I'll bring Justice to those bastards that murdered you Dr. Stylish! Then you and Father and Captain Ogre can rest easy." She declared and ran out the door.

At the Palace walls, its large gates open to let the Jaegers through on horseback with Esdeath leading them. Hidden in the bushes nearby, two men watched them leave "Get a message to HQ. Tell them the Jaegers are on the move and to warn Night Raid." One says to the other.

 **Night Raid Base Camp, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Ripley, Newt, and all the members of Night Raid sat back in chairs, taking a moment to process all the incredible information that was shared between them. Only Ripley didn't seem as impressed as the others "A corrupt nation, on the brink of civil war, the strong preying on the weak. People slaughtering and tormenting each other in droves. This world was fucked up long before we got here." She concluded.

Najenda looks at her "None of this comes as a surprise to you?" Ripley smirked and said "On my world, Humanity has had a long sad history of violence, war and suffering. For more than two millennia, the mass homicides and genocides have dragged on. The only difference is it's become much cleaner. People mostly just kill each other to gain wealth." The leader of Night Raid makes a shuddering motion "You're talking about your employers and their plans for the Aliens?" Ripley nods "Yes. If they ever got their hands on the Aliens, countless worlds would end up like the Hadley Colony. The death toll would be beyond numbering."

"But what about our world? How can you be so sure these Aliens can bring about it's end? I don't know if you noticed, but our world has its fair share of Danger Beasts. And we've been getting by just fine with them running around." Argued Chelsea. Ripley looks at her in response "These aren't some species that evolved naturally on this planet. They didn't even originate from my world. Their physiology comes as an unholy miracle from beyond any known space. A perfect killer that doesn't know pain or fear or pity. They exists only to kill all those around them. And their Queen is capable of breeding them to match one egg to a host. As long as there's a planet with life. The Aliens can match it with death."

"Sounds like they have most in common with Esdeath, Seryu and the Prime Minister." Surmised Tatsumi "As long as people like those three still breath, not a soul on this planet will know peace." Ripley places a hand on his shoulder "I know those three have caused you all so much grief and misery. But if they are as powerful as you described. Then perhaps they can help in eradicating the Aliens. The Enemy of My Enemy…"

"Is still my Enemy" interrupted Najenda "Nobody from the Empire would want to kill this species. Worst case scenario, they attempt to capture these creatures and turn them into weapons against us." Ripley shakes her head "They will fail and die"

"And the Aliens will flourish because of it and will make this fight even more complicated." Night Raid's leader adds "Our goal to bring down the Empire remains our highest priority. The Alien threat will have to wait afterwards."

Ripley moans in frustration "It will be too late by then. If left unchecked, these things will swell in numbers and overwhelm any force that might try to stop them." Najenda shrugs "I'm sorry, Ripley. But every member of both the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid have laid down their lives to bring about change to this world. It would not be right to suddenly abandon the cause, when we have come so close to making the world a better place." Ripley persisted "If you take me to your superiors and I plead my case to shift priorities. Would you then focus on the Aliens, instead?"

"We're all soldiers here. We'll follow the orders we've been given." Replied Najenda "I can't guarantee that the higher-ups would even listen to you and your story. It would sound too farfetched. What then? Would you fight the Aliens all on your own? You could always join our group and fight for a better future for you and Newt."

Ripley shakes her head again "You're talking about changing the world. But I'm talking about making sure there's still a world left for you to change. You've already known it would be impossible for me to go it alone. That's why I've decided to follow Night Raid. At least until I'm no longer by myself in this situation."

"You're referring to your comrades, Hicks and Bishop?" asked Lubbock "How can you be sure they're alive and in this world?" "Because everything that was in the colony wound up here. It stands to reason they'd be here too. We just need a way to find them." Ripley went to one of the crates and pulled out the transmitter. "If I can get to a high enough elevation, this communication device can broadcast a radio signal far enough to reach them in the Dropship. Wherever that might be."

Leone looks at the transmitter with interest. "Amazing! To think, you can find your friends and speak with them in an instant. All thanks to this gizmo"

"Big Deal!" argued Mine "Why don't you use that thing to contact your spaceship? You said the one you came with, the USS Sulaco was a warship. Right? Can't you call upon its arsenal to help fight the Empire and destroy the Aliens as well?"

"It's not that simple, Mine." Ripley explains "This transmitter isn't strong enough to manage orbital communication. At best it can scan for the ship's IFF, but that's only possible with adequate power being provided." She looks up as if searching through the skies. "And even if by some miracle, the Sulaco is up there and we can find it, we still need the Dropship to take us off planet."

Akame walks up to Ripley "How high do you need to get, for you to send out the signal?" The former Warrant Officer looks back up again "The higher I can get, the better the coverage will be. Maybe atop a mountain or flying over the clouds." Najenda looks at her thoughtfully. "Would the Air Manta work?"

"What's an Air Manta?" Ripley asked. Najenda grabs her hand and leads her and Newt out the tent and to the edge of camp where the Danger Beast is tethered, with the rest of Night Raid following close by. Ripley and Newt looked at it with suspicion. After a while though, Newt rubs her hand along the Air Manta's smooth belly. The creature makes a pleasant humming tune in response. "So this is what you use to get around?" she wonders aloud.

"We normally use horses and wagons for transport. But a few of us can use flying Danger Beasts as a means to travel by air. If you can tame one, of course." Najenda explains. Ripley looks at the transmitter in her hands excitedly "Then let's try it out! We've got to find Hicks and let him know where we are!"

Suddenly a growling noise sounded off from Ripley's stomach. Another, smaller growling noise came from Newt's. And finally a loud growl that sounded more like a roar, escape from the stomach of Akame, who covers her belly in embarrassment. Everyone looks in shock, causing her to blush.

Najenda chuckles and says "I think we should eat some dinner first before we try anything. Newt there looks almost like skin and bones. And I can't have my best fighter here, lose her edge by missing out on a meal." Ripley concedes and nods.

"Su! Prepare this evening's supper. Let's have a feast in honor of our guests!" Everyone cheers and made their way back to the central tent to set the tables, while Susanoo rolled up his sleeves and headed towards the cooking tent.

After a while, Ripley, Newt and the members of Night Raid sat together around a large dinner table waiting for Susanoo to serve their meals. The humanoid Imperial Arm placed several plates of food in front of each person seated. "Hope all of you are ready, because I went all out on this one! For our Leader, there's Salt Ramen with hard noodles and a Zesty Chicken." Najenda make a doe-eyed face "Wow!". "For Mine and Chelsea you both get Strawberry Parfait with a little extra ingredient included" Mine clasps her hands in excitement with some hearts floating above her head, while Chelsea quickly grabs the one with the largest portion. "For you Lubbock, Bokkai Shrimp, fresh from the water." Lubbock's face lights up with overwhelming joy, as if some gorgeous babe appeared in front of him and asked him out. "Leone, I've brought you Oden and Chilled Alcohol a very pricey beverage at that." Leone makes a cheering gesture "Yes!" "For you Newt, I've made a Tomato Bisque garnished with Cheddar Cheese and Nutritional Herbs." Newt looks at the large bowl in front of her with the uncertainty of being able to eat all of it, but she looks up and says "Thank You". "Ripley, you get Spaghetti and Meatballs with Mushrooms and Assorted Spices mixed in." Ripley looks up from her plate "For an Artificial Person, you seem to know your way around the kitchen." "I prefer the term, Humanoid Imperial Arm myself" corrected Susanoo. "Sounds like something, Bishop would say" commented Ripley. Susanoo raises an eyebrow "Your mean your Synthetic friend? We're not that much similar. I was created by means of magic and alchemy to fight my creators' battles, while your Artificial Person was made by science and technology to accommodate your labor needs." Ripley smirks "Yet, you both display sincere devotion to the people around you. Nobody would call you a real person but you and Bishop maintain a standard of humanity, people from both our worlds should aspire to imitate." "I'll take that as a compliment. Please enjoy your meal. Okay! Next, we have Akame. Yours is an Assortment of Meats from every animal I can find, coated in my Secret Sauce." Akame looks at her food in an ecstatic daze, as her mouth slowly begins to salivate. "And Tatsumi said anything was fine, so a Special Susanoo lunch set." Tatsumi looks at his plate, befuddled "Hey. Doesn't this look like a kid's meal?" Mine snorted in an attempt to conceal her laughter.

"Wanna trade?" asks Newt. Tatsumi shakes his head "Now Newt. When we learned you survived by yourself scavenging for food, it's decided we start you off on the simple qualities. Hence the soup." Newt frowns and picks up a spoon to begin eating.

"Hey, Tatsumi! You do know what you're supposed to do when your Big Sis' cup is empty right?" Leone wraps her arm around Night Raid's newest member. "Yes, Leone. I'll fill it for you." Replied Tatsumi. "Well Done!" Leone tries to give him a chest smothering hug.

Mine turns to both of them to tell them to quit fooling around next to her, while she eats. But suddenly, she began coughing uncontrollably. Najenda looks at her "Su! Help Mine out! She's choking!" Ripley looks at Mine also, with a dark suspicion. She slowly reaches for her pulse-rifle hanging off her chair, but Chelsea grabs her by the wrist "Easy, Ripley! It's not what you think!"

Susanoo rushes up behind Mine and gives her a hard slap against her back. She coughs one more time and a half-eaten strawberry shoots out her mouth and lands on Akame's recently emptied plate. "Gross!" Lubbock, Tatsumi, and Newt said out loud. Mine blushes in pure embarrassment and Lubbock begins to berate her "Dammit, Mine! Hasn't anyone taught you to chew your food?"

Suddenly he stops talking and picks up one of Cross Tails' gloves "Boss! The barrier's been tripped. Something's caught in it." All eyes turned towards the green haired defense operative. "I feel tugging on the threads. Whatever's caught, it's Big." The threads started to tighten hard "And it's strong!" Lubbock puts on Cross Tails' gloves.

Najenda and Ripley, both call out "Which direction!?". Lubbock feels along the many strands in front of him "It's from the Northern side of the Colony." Ripley picks up her motion tracker "I'm not reading any movement." "That's because anything caught in the barrier are immobilized by the threads. Like a fly in a spider's web" he turns back to the threads and sees that most of them have started to tighten "We got more of them!"

Ripley slings her weapon over her shoulder and grabs Newt's hand "Najenda. For the last time, we need to leave right now!"

"Cool it, Ripley! Nothing's getting through the barrier. Right, Lubbock?" Night Raid's leader looks at her subordinate "That's right. Once they're caught, all they can do is struggle until the threads begin to cut into their flesh" suddenly the strands in front of Lubbock start to go slack "What the hell?" he winds the loose threads back to him. He looks at some of the strands' severed ends. They're melted and dripping with yellowish fluids. "These are some of my strongest threads. What kind of liquid can burn through them like that?". "Acid" answers a terrified Ripley "Acid for blood." The motion tracker in her hand began beeping. It's view screen show ten contacts dots, then twenty, then thirty with more increasing until half the screen was covered with dots.

Everyone grabbed their Imperial Arms and turned to Najenda for instructions. She looks over at Ripley "Alright Ripley. We'll do it your way. We're abandoning Camp. Mine, take Pumpkin and cover us. Su, you and Tatsumi go with her and back her up. The rest of you, come and help me prep the Air Manta for take off!"

"Wait!" Ripley called for everyone to stop "You can't hold them off with hand to hand and a single gun, your melee weapons will disintegrate from the acid. I'll go with Mine. The rest of you, load those crates and come pick us up when you're finished." She lets go of Newt's hand "Newt, stay close to Najenda. Do whatever she says. Alright?" the little girl quietly nods and Najenda picks her up with her prosthetic arm "C'mon kid! This way!" she says while making her way towards the flying Danger Beast. Ripley walks to where her jacket lay and puts it on and zips it closed. She readies her pulse rifle and checks the ammo counter showing 99 rounds in the magazine. She remembers the grenade launcher was loaded and ready, so she looks at the flamethrower and frowns. It was still empty and she had no way of refilling it. _Kapow! Kapow! Kapow!_ Shots rang out from outside the tent, at the edge of camp. Realizing time was running out, she rushed to the ammo crate and grabbed some spare pulse-rifle clips before pocketing them and ran out to join Mine.

"It's about time you came! These bastards just keep coming. I count at least forty of them before giving up and began shooting." Mine yelled out as she kept firing at the approaching horde. Ripley looks out ahead of her and once again had to fight the urge to run away. There they were, charging across the landscape between the Camp and the Colony, came the Aliens.

"Don't let them get close!" _Rata-ta-ta-ta!_ Ripley steadied her pulse-rifle and opened fire, silently praying she had enough rounds to keep them at bay. "Don't have to tell Me twice!" Mine responded as she continued to blast away at the oncoming Aliens. While Ripley was spraying rounds everywhere and reloading, Mine was quickly selecting a target and squeezing Pumpkin's trigger. All of her shots were accurate, with every spirit-powered round blowing apart any Alien that got hit. But with every Xenomorph that went down screeching, two more took its place bringing the horde closer to Night Raid's base camp.

"We're losing ground! We can't hold them off for much longer!" Ripley called out. "Don't worry! The closer they get, the more powerful Pumpkin's shots become!" assured Mine, taking notice of her Imperial Arm's strengthening recoil and another Alien being blown apart behind every Alien she shot at.

The Alien horde began to split down the middle and circle around the sides. "They're trying to flank us! I'll take the left side! Mine, you take the right!" Ripley instructed, reloading the last magazine she brought with her. "Yeah! I got it!" answered Mine, trying hard to maintain her aim as Pumpkin's recoil and shots grew stronger and stronger. Ripley focuses on the Aliens coming to her side, unleashing a storm of pulse-rifle fire. Her last magazine ran dangerously low, but seeing them bunched up together gave her an idea.

She switches to the grenade launcher and fires off a round. _Plunk! Kaboom!_ Five Aliens at the front of the pack were instantly blown to pieces. And the remaining Xenomorphs had to pause and maneuver around the flames left behind by the grenade's detonation. Ripley worked the pump-action and fired the remaining grenades. The barrage she sent resulted in her side completely blocked off by fire and deep smoking craters, buying her time as the Aliens looked for a way through the devastation. She looks at the pulse-rifle's ammo counter, 15 rounds left then it's empty. That's enough bullets to kill about a handful of Aliens, but many more would remain.

Ripley looks behind her, thinking if she can run back to camp and fetch more ammo without risking Mine being overwhelmed. But startles when she noticed a man wearing a white and silver suit of armor, standing next to her. "Ripley! It's Me, Tatsumi! I'm wearing my Imperial Arm, Incursio. I've come to help!" The new member of Night Raid called out from inside his armor's helmet. "I've told you before! Fighting them up close is a bad idea!" Ripley warned.

Tatsumi ignored her and turned around to pick up the trunk of a fallen tree he brought from the nearby forest. "I've heard you before! So check this out!" he lifts the tree and hurls it at the Aliens. The tree lands on a trio of Xenomorphs that made it past the wall of flames Ripley made, crushing them. "Incursio grants me immense physical strength as long as I wear its armor. I can throw large objects without effort!" Ripley looks in wonder as he picks up another tree and sends it flying towards the Aliens. This time the tree starts rolling as it lands, tripping up the pack of Xenomorphs and slowing them down as they scatter to avoid the incoming projectile.

Ripley looks over at the pile of fallen trees Tatsumi stockpiled for throwing "Tatsumi! Concentrate your aim at one side of the pack! Try to force them over to Mine's range. Mine! I'm low on ammo, so Tatsumi's gonna send more targets your way! Think you can manage!?" Mine gleefully smiles and answers "Leave them to me! I can handle these bastards, no problem!" Pumpkin was now powerful enough to send Mine stepping backwards with its recoil, and her shots were destroying four Aliens at a time. Her rate of fire started to decrease as she struggled to keep the Imperial Arm steady and accurate.

One of the Aliens at the front of the horde took advantage of the slowing barrage and side stepped around a shot. The Xenomorph was a few yards away from Mine, when it quickly jumped at her with a pouncing motion. "Mine! Look Out!" Ripley called out in a panic. The pink haired sniper had a split second to see a mass of claws, teeth and slime coming straight at her. Suddenly, the Alien was sent tumbling a few feet away, after Tatsumi jumped in front of Mine and delivered a left hook into the monster's face. It recovered instantly and faces him, hissing viciously.

Before the Alien can attack Tatsumi, Ripley aimed her pulse-rifle and shot it till it stopped moving. "We're out of Time! We have to get out of here, Now!" As if in answer, another voice calls out from above "Up Here!". Ripley and Tatsumi look up and see Najenda, Newt and the other members of Night Raid on top of the flying Air Manta, hovering a few stories over them. "Su! Get them on board!" ordered Najenda, and Susanoo quickly jumped down, picked up Ripley in his arms and leapt back on to the Air Manta. "Mine! Grab on to me!" Tatsumi grabs Mine and picks her up in a bridal hold, before taking a similar leap towards the Air Manta. An Alien pounces towards them to intercept, but Mine quickly fires Pumpkin and blows it away right as it reaches for Tatsumi's leg and rakes its claws on his boot's shin protector.

As Tatsumi and Mine land safely aboard the Air Manta, Najenda tugs its reigns to make it fly higher. Another Alien makes a jump at them and latches on to the Danger Beasts side. It crawls up on top and makes ready to attack, but was suddenly set ablaze when Leone threw a lit Molotov cocktail at it. "That's for ruining my Dinner! You Piece of Shit!" she yells in fury as the Xenomorph screeched in burning agony. While the Alien was distracted, Akame quickly ran at it and delivered a roundhouse kick to the face. It stumbled over the side and fell off the Air Manta in a burning, screaming heap. The other Aliens below, scattered as their torched brethren hit the ground.

 _Shreee!_ A loud, piercing shriek echoed across the land and the Aliens charged back North, towards the same direction where the shriek came from. From atop the Air Manta, Ripley and the others looked down to see what's happening. "Where are they going now?" Chelsea asks. Ripley sits beside her with Newt sitting in her lap "They're going wherever their Queen tells them to go. She's the one that made that noise and called them back. They follow her will and orders, whatever that may be." Akame looks at her "Was she the monster Newt showed us, using Spectator's Illusion Sight?". Ripley nods her head "She's the one who leads the Aliens. She's bigger, stronger, and smarter than the ones you've just seen. She also lays the eggs that allows her species to breed and grow." Leone, Mine and Chelsea place a hand on their chests with disgust and sickening fear, thinking about when Ripley explained during her briefing, the facehugging and chestbursting process with which Aliens are born. "The Queen and her eggs are the center of this infestation. As long as either of them exist, the Aliens will swarm over this entire planet. One living host at a time."

Night Raid watches as the Aliens disappear among the trees at the north end of the Colony. Tatsumi deactivates Incursio and suddenly grabs his leg in pain. He rolls up his pants and looks at his shin to see a set of bleeding cuts at where the Alien had slashed him. "Damn! These guys are strong to be able to get through Incursio's armor like that! And you say the Queen is stronger? Boss, maybe we should listen to Ripley and focus on getting rid of these Aliens. There's no telling how much destruction they can cause, if left running loose."

"It's not my call to make. We can't ignore the Jaegers and the Empire, either." Najenda looks over at Ripley "Again, I'm sorry. We've underestimated the Aliens, which is why I'm taking you to Headquarters to have our leaders decide our next course of action. Believe me, none of us wants those monsters to spread out and take over the world." Ripley nods her head in understanding "Fine. I've underestimated you all too. You're much stronger than what I've could've imagined. Now I know you guys are our best hope in wiping out this species for good." Akame places her hand on Ripley's shoulder "Don't worry Ripley. If all it takes is for us to kill the Queen, you can count on me to Eliminate her." She holds up Murasame with resolve. Ripley looks at her Imperial Arm with skepticism "You're gonna need more than that sword of yours." "It's deadlier than you think." Akame insisted. "Relax, Akame. You'll get your chance soon enough. We just have to wait and see which problem needs our attention first, The Aliens or the Empire" said Najenda as she steers the Air Manta towards the South, after taking one last look Northward "Beside, we're not the only group capable of fighting the Aliens"

"Stay still Tatsumi. Let's have a look at your wound." Mine takes some bandages and a rag out of a sack and kneels down beside Tatsumi's injured leg "The cuts aren't that deep. I guess Incursio was strong enough to protect you this much. Otherwise you would have lost a foot." Ripley sits Newt down next to Chelsea and tells her to stay, while she goes over to the crate that held the Colonial Marine medical supplies. "Here, take these." She hands Mine a couple of bottles of medicine "This one will disinfect the cuts and this one will stop the bleeding." Mine wipes up the blood with the rag and sprays the first bottle on Tatsumi's shin. "It feels cold. And the pain is gone!" exclaimed Tatsumi. Mine sprays the other bottle and the blood stopped flowing. "Amazing!" she gasped. "Our pharmaceuticals are far more advanced than yours in this world, and these medicines you can get for cheap at any retail market." Ripley explained.

Mine gives back the bottles of medicine and starts to wrap Tatsumi's leg with the bandages. She finishes and stands up "There! Treatment successful!" Tatsumi looks up at her and speaks "Thanks Mine. You've been a great help." Mine blushes and replies "It's nothing! You watched my back earlier down there, so I thought I'd return the favor." "I should thank you too Mine. You've fought your hardest to ensure we all escaped safely, and me and Newt wouldn't be sitting here with you all if you haven't found us." Ripley states with genuine appreciation. Newt looks over at them and says "Thank you Mine. And you too Tatsumi. You both were amazing down there, fighting the monsters." Overwhelmed by the compliments, a still blushing Mine quietly sits down with her back against Tatsumi, who throws Newt a thumbs up.

Lubbock stares at the three equipment boxes in amazement "Wow. Your world has so much incredible things Ripley. Miraculous medicines, extremely advanced technology…" "Don't forget, space travel" added Akame as she looks up at the evening sky "I thought it was already fascinating to just sail the ocean and see new places. But to think that you make your living flying beyond the stars. It must look beautiful from up there."

"It is" said Ripley, while putting away the medicine bottles "Space can show you just how beautiful and terrible our universe can be. Even more so considering what's lurking up there, among the stars." Akame looks at Ripley again "Do you think it's possible to visit your world? I mean if you were able to come to this place, then perhaps there's a way for you to return?" Ripley smiles and brings out the transmitter from its box again "Only a certain Artificial Person can answer that. And if he's out there somewhere, this is the only way for him to find us."

She powers up the transmitter and began speaking into the microphone "Bishop. Hicks. This is Ripley. Over." The transmitter's speaker lets out a sound of whining static. Everyone aboard the Air Manta gathered around Ripley. Najenda hands the reigns over to Susanoo and joins as well. After a minute of listening to static, Ripley speaks into the microphone again "Bishop! Hicks! This is Ripley! Do you read me!? Over!" more static. Another minute passed by, then two before Ripley began to lose hope. Then finally, a faded voice began to sound off through the speaker. Ripley began pressing buttons on the transmitter in an attempt to get a clear signal. When she finished, the voice from the speaker rang out loud and clear "Ripley? This is Bishop. We read you loud and clear. Over."

All of Night Raid cheered loudly and Newt went to hug Ripley with silent tears of joy. "Are you there, Ripley? This is Bishop. We read you loud and clear. Over." The voice continued to sound off through the speaker. Everybody grew quiet when Najenda raises a finger to her lips to settle them down, then Ripley answers "Bishop!? Thank God! It's good to hear you. Where are you? Are you with Hicks? Are you both alright? Over." Another minute went by and Bishop replies "It's good to hear you too, Ripley. Yes, I'm with Hicks. We're both safe inside the dropship. Hicks is unconscious right now. I had to give him another dose of medicine for his wounds, so he'll be out for a while. As for where we are, I can't say for sure. My memory banks is somewhat corrupted. My last memory was attempting to rescue you and Newt at the Atmosphere Processor's landing platform. Then we woke up to find ourselves landed on a grass field in the middle of some forest. That was yesterday morning. Afterwards, I've powered up the ship and took flight. We've been searching for you and Newt ever since." Ripley breathed a sigh of relief. From what Bishop described, their situation doesn't seem dire. And it sounds like the dropship remains functional. Now they just need to find each other. Bishop continues speaking "Ok, Ripley. Same questions as you asked me. What's your location and situation. Over."

Ripley looks at everyone around her and carefully answers "I have Newt here with me. We're both fine and safe among friends. But, listen Bishop. Wherever we ended up, the Aliens came with us along with the Hadley Colony. We barely managed to get away. I need you to come and find us, so we can try to find the Sulaco." Najenda whispers into her ear. Ripley continues talking into the microphone "We're currently heading south of the Colony through wilderness to meet with allies. Can you meet us there? Over."

A few seconds go by and Bishop answers "I'm sorry Ripley. The ship's navigational computer is still malfunctioning. We can't get our bearings or determine our position on this planet since the computer was calibrated for LV-426's cartography and new mapping data has to be supplied by docking with the Sulaco and downloading the data from its sensors. Our best chance is to give me a day or two to manually calibrate the computer using visual reference of the sun's, stars' and the moon's relative rotation. Do you see the small button in back of the transmitter? Press it. It's a homing beacon that I can lock on to. Once I have the computer working properly, I can triangulate the signal and pinpoint your exact location. Until then, keep the transmitter activated and broadcasting close to you. Understand? Over." Ripley follows his instructions and pressed the button for the homing beacon "Alright Bishop. Beacon's activated. Once you have our position, come find us right away. And another thing, don't try to land or contact the indigenous population. There's a group of people out there who would try to attack or capture you, and we can't risk you or the ship being destroyed. Or worse, falling into the wrong hands. You have to be careful, trust me Bishop. Also, the Aliens. We've last spotted them heading north, away from the Colony. If you spot them on your way towards us, use the ship's weaponry and kill as many as you can. Do you copy? Over."

Bishop verbally confirms her orders "Roger. Avoid the indigenous, destroy any Xenomorphs I come across, and come find you. Correct? Over." Ripley nods to herself "That's right. I'll contact you if something happens. See you soon. Over." Bishop replies with a final transmission "Stay safe. Over and Out." The speaker resumes giving off the sound of static, then Ripley flips a switch and shuts it off. The only sound remaining was the homing beacon generating a steady beeping sound. "Well? How did it go? Are your friends coming?" asked Najenda. Ripley shakes her head "No, not yet. It's gonna take them a while to find us. Maybe about a day or two."

Tired from today's events and the promise of battle in later days, all of Night Raid began to rest aboard the Air Manta. Leone was already lying down, snoring and making hiccups from having drunken the last bottle of alcohol left to her. Chelsea laid down nearby, clutching a sleeping Newt for warmth. Mine was still sitting with her back against Tatumi's, while drifting into sleep. Tatsumi lays her down properly and covers her with his jacket. He lies down nearby and sees Akame next to him, laying on her back and staring up at the night's sky and its many stars. "Can't sleep Akame?" he asks. The crimson-eyed assassin answers without taking her eyes off the stars "No, not really. I'm still just so excited about space travel. To think, Ripley's friends have a ship that can take them up there. Perhaps I can ask to go with them? Just a quick trip up there and back would be more than enough for me. I wish Kurome can be there with me to share that experience." Tatsumi turns to look up at the stars as well, just in time to see a shooting star race across the sky. He smiles and says "Don't give up Akame. After meeting Ripley and Newt, and with everything we've seen today, I just know this world is full of possibilities. We'll get your sister back, even if we have to beat her up and drag her with us kicking and screaming." Akame smiles "Thank you, Tatsumi. That's real nice of you. I think." She turns her head and closes her eyes to sleep. Still smiling, the green eyed fighter took one last look at the stars and goes to sleep.

Ripley was at the storage crates, putting away her weapon and Newt's newly acquired Imperial Arm. Najenda approaches her with Lubbock at her side "Are you're friends going to be alright? If they don't know where they are and they find themselves within the Empire, there's no guarantee they won't be spotted or attacked." Lubbock concurs "Yeah! And if the they run into the Jaegers, they'll be worse off!" Ripley sighs and shrugs "There's nothing we can do right now to help them. At this time, they're on their own." She places the transmitter in an empty sack and ties it to her back "Don't worry, they're both tough and smart. And the dropship is extremely powerful. Nothing's gonna trouble them, anytime soon."

 **South of the Fortress Shisuikan, Inside Imperial Territory**

In the light of the next morning, above the flat rolling plain, flew the UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship as it makes its way towards the Imperial Fortress. In its cockpit sat the android Synthetic Lance Bishop as he pilots the ship, all the while inputting information into the ship's computer of every visual data he sees. Since his programming granted him the ability to obtain and process all sorts of information at 10 times that of a regular human, he was able to gather the local geography, topography, and thanks to the computer's built-in compass, even a rudimentary direction of North, East, South, and West. But to get a fix on Ripley's position, he'll need global positioning data for the computer. And for that to happen he'll need to acquire the necessary data on a massive scale. Hence the reason why Corporal Dwayne Hicks was in the ship's passenger bay, hastily assembling a device, using tools, some tape, and a welding torch. As per Bishop's instructions. "I don't understand, Bishop. Why are you flying us toward another populated settlement, if Ripley specifically told you not to contact the local natives?" Hicks questioned. The synthetic technician finished making adjustments to the computer and answers "Because, Corporal. We need a drop point for the probe I'm having you build. If we can set it on the surface and fly up into orbit, we can use the probe as a reference point to help map this planet's surface. Then, I can track Ripley's transmitter and bring us to her location."

Hicks puts down his tool and examines his creation. A modified communication transmitter coupled to a large power cell and a few processing hardware patched into it's systems. The probe's assembly and function was complicated, but thanks to Bishop's use of layman's terms and Hicks' own basic knowledge of Com-Tech engineering taught to him by his late loudmouth friend Hudson, the Corporal was able to build without it blowing up in his face. "Don't need anymore burns on my cheek." He said to himself, while feeling the bandage attached to the side of his face. The wounds from the acid burns still ache, but he can feel the pain dulling by the hour.

Hicks wraps the probe in a protective layer of duct tape to keep all the components together, before securing it to a seat and stepping into the cockpit to join the ship's pilot. "You still haven't told me, why are we heading towards a populated area?" He persisted. Bishop looks at him and clarify "Because if the probe malfunctions, gets damaged or destroyed. We'll need a visual landmark to find it again and make repairs or replace it."

The dropship lands on a clear field, just within view of the Fortress and Bishop lowers the ship's step ladder for Hicks to exit. The Corporal takes the probe, an electric auger, and a shovel, before stepping down the gantry. "Use the drill to dig a hole, about 3 feet deep. Then activate the probe and gently lower it to the bottom. And use the shovel to bury it." Instructed Bishop. He then looks at the ship's forward camera view screen and adds "Hurry, Corporal. I can see people coming. Six individuals approaching on horseback." Hicks was already burying the probe when he heard about the inbound natives. He quickly gathered the auger and shovel, before running up the gantry and sat in the cockpit's copilot seat behind Bishop. "Alright the probe's been activated and installed. Now let's get out of here before these people see us."

Too late. The group on horseback already came within shouting distance from the ship, before stopping in a tightly spreading formation. Hicks and Bishop studied the group as they came closer. At their center was a woman in a white military-looking uniform. She had long blue hair with matching eyes and a slim figure with a large bust. To her left was a young woman with auburn hair and amber colored eyes. She wore a similar uniform in green and has an animal resembling a small dog, hanging on her shoulder. Her arms seem metallic and resembles machinery, instead of flesh. The last person on the left was a large muscular man in a mask. His top was shirtless and there were three scars across his chest. On his back was an object resembling a gas tank with an odd looking weapon hanging from the side. To the blue haired woman's right was a young man with blond hair and golden eyes. He wore a white robe over a black suit underneath and there were two disc-shaped objects attached to his shoulders. Next, was another young man with dark hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a blue leather jacket with gray pants, and had a sword tied to his waist. Finally, the last person was a teenage looking girl with medium length black hair and black eyes. Her clothes were a black sailor uniform and she also had a sword tied to her waist. "No time to say hello, Bishop. Take us into orbit." Ordered Hicks and Bishop grabbed the controls and guided the ship upwards.

"They're escaping!" Seryu turned to her Imperial Arm "Koro! Number 6!" Koro enlarges his head and clamps his mouth over Seryu's upper body. He opens his mouth and Seryu emerges with a giant missile attached to her right arm, with a number 6 painted on its side. Jumping off her horse and keeping the missile steady with her other arm, she takes aim "There's no way I'm letting you get away!" Seryu launches the missile at the dropship.

Hicks buckles into his seat, while screaming "Bishop! Evasive maneuvers! Now!" Bishop throttles the ship's engines to max output and barrel rolls the ship out of the missile's path. It misses the ship, but immediately turns around and comes back. "It's got a lock on us! Punch it, Bishop! Try to lose it!" the dropship jets upwards and attempts to outrun the missile, which follows them persistently.

"It's pointless! You can't run away from Justice, nor hide from it! It will always pursue Evil and annihilates it!" Seryu declared triumphantly. Beside her Esdeath shouts orders to the other Jaegers "Stay on your guard, everyone! We don't yet know what this thing is" Bols jumps off his horse and readies Rubicante. Run activates Mastema and sprouts wings, then flies off his horse and hovers in place. Wave stabs Grand Chariot's cutlass form into the ground and summons his Imperial Arm's black armor onto himself, before taking a ready stance. Kurome dismounts and draws Yatsufusa from its sheath. She stands by, ready to summon her undead puppets depending on how the situation unfolds. Finally, Esdeath does the same and stands patiently with her rapier in hand. "It doesn't seem like a Danger Beast. Its body looks metallic. And did anybody see what was in its head? It looked liked two people." Run called out his assessment. Esdeath comments "Whatever it is, it's fast and agile despite its size. Let's see how long it last."

The dropship breaks right and rapidly decelerates to let the missile fly by. Before it can turn around and come back towards them, Hicks targeted it with the gatling gun and opened fire. In a series of ricochet noise, the 25mm rounds bounced harmlessly off the missile's armored shell.

"Ha! It's futile! You can't harm Justice!" Seryu taunted from below, grinning with pure malice as she sees the flying object try to fly away, with her missile in close pursuit. Suddenly, in a swift graceful motion, the flying object somersaults over the missile and levels behind it. Several appendages unfold from its body, each one holding weapon pods brimming with munitions.

"It's tough. Let's see how it holds up against this." Hicks selects a Headlock air to air missile. The targeting HUD shows it's locked on target and the Corporal presses the launch trigger "Eat This!" the Headlock missile shoots out of its launch pod and rockets towards the giant missile, ramming itself into the larger missile's rocket propulsion and detonates violently. Without its means of flight, the missile falls to the ground in a resounding crash and explodes. _Kaboom!_

Seryu looks in disbelief "Impossible! How can it destroy the reinforced armor weapon!?" Esdeath makes a sinister grin, while the other Jaegers watch in determine readiness as the Dropship descends towards them in a slow hovering motion.

"Are you sure about this, Hicks? They did just shoot at us" inquired Bishop as he follows his orders to lower the ship down to face their assailants. "I know. But we need answers and we got to try and reason with these folks. They might at least know where we can find Ripley. You have instant reflexes, Bishop. If any of them make a move, gun the ship and make for orbit."

With its weapon pods still deployed, the Dropship levels into view, about a stone's throw away from where the Jaegers stood. "Captain! Run is right! I see two people inside that thing's "head"". Informed Seryu, as she offered her commander a pair of binoculars she was using. Esdeath refuses the offer and instead, conjures a scope made of ice and takes a look. "Interesting. It seems the object they're in, is some sort of flying vehicle." She studies the two men inside. The one sitting in front had brown hair and hazel eyes and wore a blue jumpsuit. The other one had short brown hair and green eyes with a large bandage on the side of his face, and wore green combat fatigues. "Tatsumi?" she wondered out loud, but corrected herself. This man resembles her love interest, but had notable differences. The man looked older and more haggard, a different hairstyle and a confident attitude. The man puts on a headset and speaks into the microphone. Even his voice sounded different, as it blared electronically from the vehicle. "You should know, it's bad manners for you to attack us like that. Why don't we talk this out? Like civilized adults. This doesn't have to get any uglier."

"How dare you make demands with us! You think Justice will negotiate with Villains like you!?" Seryu called out. The other Jaegers look at their leader, waiting for her to decide the next move. Intrigued, Esdeath signals her team to stand down. "Yes. I think we can have a conversation. I hope you'll forgive us for our actions. We thought you were in league with our enemies. But now it seems, not to be the case. So tell me, who are you? And why are you here?". "Since you shot at us just now, I think we're entitled to some answers first." The bandaged man responded and the General nods. He continues "Who are YOU. And why were you trying to kill us?" Esdeath shrugs and answers "Like I said before, We thought you were someone else, an enemy we've been tracking." Then she adds "And I wanted to see how strong you are."

Hicks was angry "Lady! Where I come from. We usually give each other names and warnings, before getting to shooting at one another. If you're part of some army or any kind of military organization, I'd make a formal complaint to your Commanding Officer." The blue eyed woman chuckled "I AM this Army's commanding officer. My name is Esdeath. GENERAL Esdeath. I'm the strongest in the Empire and one of the top military leaders of the Imperial Army. These…" she points to her subordinates "Are my specialized fighting group, the Jaegers. We defend the Empire against its enemies, whoever they may be." Then, she smugly adds "And where I come from, only the strong get to have a say in how they conduct themselves in battle. The weak stay downtrodden and die off. Now you have my name, and here's my warning. Answer what I asked earlier, or suffer and die."

Bishop glances at his flight HUD "Corporal. The thermometer just spiked below zero degrees for an instant. Not sure if that was a glitch or not." Hicks eyed his weapons control console thoughtfully but decided to let it go for now. He still needs more answers from these people. But somehow, someway this woman is extremely dangerous, and he's not sure why. So he decides to push her "My name is Huckleberry Finn. And this is my good friend, Tom Sawyer. We're adventurers, looking for fame and fortune in the world." This time he felt a chill. Bishop looks again at his HUD "Hicks. The thermometer spike down again. Seems deliberate, not a glitch." That confirms that the woman was the cause, and Hicks realized why he felt that chill for another reason beside the loss in temperature. It was Killing Intent. The woman, Esdeath just stood there with her face frowned and her eyes narrowed "You're lying. I know enough about sarcasm, to know if you're using it. Now speak truthfully! Last Warning!" Hicks spoke with an innocent tone "Sorry! Sorry about that. Just a joke to liven up the mood. You'll get the truth from here on out. I promise, no bullshit."

Esdeath was not amused, but decided not to attack. "I still need more information. But afterwards, I'll show you my idea of a joke to liven up the mood. In the Torture Chamber" she thought. She finally responds "Talk!".

"My name is Hicks. CORPORAL Dwayne Hicks. I'm with the United States Colonial Marines Corps. And this guy here is Science Officer, Lance Bishop. We're part of a military expedition to investigate and eradicate a possible Xenomorph infestation on Planet LV-426. But something happened and we found ourselves in this place, with no idea how we got here or where our teammates went." Answered Hicks, and all of the Jaegers looked at each other confused. "That's one hell of a story you're talking about, but I believe you're speaking honestly" said Esdeath "Why don't you land your vehicle and come on out? We'd like to discuss this tale in person. And I would personally love to hear every detail of your story." Then she spoke quietly to herself "In the Torture Chamber."

Hicks looks at the Jaegers, suspiciously "You mind, sharing the names of your subordinates? There's no need to be strangers here. We can help each other." The auburn haired girl, who fired the giant missile at them, stepped forward and waved her only remaining arm at them "My name is Seryu Ubiquitous! I'm an Ally of Justice! And this is my Imperial Arm, Koro." The small dog-like creature stood next to Seryu and held up a spare metal arm, offering it to her. She looks down, takes the arm and attaches it to her shoulder. After moving it around to make sure it's set right, she uses it to form a salute. Koro mimics her, and salutes too. She made no threat or indication of hostility, as if she had completely forgotten that she tried to kill them a moment ago.

The other Jaegers introduced themselves more formally. The big man in the mask raised his hand in greetings "My name is Bols. Nice to meet you." The man with wings lands on the ground and bows "My name is Run. It's a pleasure." The young man in black armor dematerialized the suit and waves his hand "I'm Wave. Let's get along." And lastly, was the teenage girl, who sheaths her sword and speaks plainly. "Kurome" was all she said before picking a small bag and began eating its contents. "Now that we all know each others names, can you please come down from there?" asked a smiling Esdeath, stepping forward.

"Stand By. I'm bringing this Ship down to land." Replied Hicks. _Swoosh!_ Suddenly, a missile fires from one of the weapon pods, and Esdeath instantly creates a large wall of ice to protect herself and the Jaegers. Instead of coming at them, the missile strikes the ground in front of them. It explodes and covers the entire area with a cloud of thick, black smoke. The Jaegers start coughing and look around, unable to see anything. "Run! Clear this smoke!" ordered Esdeath, and her personal aide flaps his wings and dispelled the smoke cloud. She looks around to find the ship, and sees it gone. Then, she looks up along with everyone else and sees the dropship shrinking to the size of an insect as it rockets its way into the sky and disappear into the clouds.

"Cowards! How dare you trick us with such lowly tactics!" screamed Seryu as the other Jeagers began gathering their horses. "We'll deal with them later, Seryu. For now, get back on your horse. We're moving to our next objective, rendezvous with the Expeditionary Force." Commanded Esdeath, as she climbs back on her horse and takes one last look at the sky. "We will meet again, Corporal Hicks." She declared, and smiles at the thought of reuniting with such a worthy opponent. The Jaegers' leader looks at her subordinates, to see them ready and waiting. "let's go!" she orders, and the Jaegers ride on south towards the Empire's southern border.

 **Above the Empire's Atmosphere, Outer Space**

The dropship flies out of the gravity well of the world it just left, and decelerates into stationary orbit. Inside, Hicks and Bishop relax and checked the ship's status "Weapon pods retracted, Life Support is active and performing beautifully. All that's left, are the Champagne and Cigars." declared the Corporal. He turns to the Synthetic "How's it going on your end, Bishop?". "Computer's syncing with the Probe. Data feed should commence momentarily." The Science Officer informs. He looks back at Hicks "So, why did you refuse General Esdeath's invitation to speak in person? Why, suddenly order me to fly us away from the Jaegers?"

The seasoned Marine makes a scowl "I thought your sharp eyes could see the threat for what it is, Bishop. She was gonna kill us. The instant we land, she was gonna murder us somehow." Bishop thinks over Hicks' revelation "Her breathing did change when she stepped towards us. Perhaps she had an ulterior motive?" Hicks shakes his head "C'mon, Bishop. Think. What did you see when you looked at her? What did she show that was wrong, and betrayed her intentions." Bishop went over his many inbuilt databases and compared Esdeath's image to the human anatomy "She had a mark on her chest, just above the cleavage. It looked like a tattoo." Hicks shakes his head again "Close, Bishop. Try again. I saw it in her eyes but you can see it as a whole." Bishop pushed his thought processors to the limit. He ran a comparison of everything that is Esdeath, and compared it to everyone else he's met in the past. Her mannerisms, her body motions, and overall dispositions towards other people. He looks up in conclusion "She's different from normal people. Abnormal, in a way as if she was made to be a normal person, but using a different and sinister material."

"She's EVIL, Bishop! Pure Fucking Evil." Hicks clarifies "That's what I saw when I looked in her eyes. I fought people who had that same look, but hers were colder and fathomless. It's as if her entire being was made up of Evil. Log that into your database, Bishop. Evil has a human form, and its Name is General Fucking Esdeath!" he punches the reinforced hull of the dropship in anger. Even though his leader was distressed, Bishop stands there quietly and updates his database with this new information. He waits for the Corporal to calm down and asks "What do we do next?"

Hicks slows his breathing and looks up. He sees the planet they where on and notices how similar it was to Earth. Except the local Moon was red in color. He then, looks around the dropship's interior and its cargo. Crates and boxes full of ammo, supplies, and equipment tucked away in the back, right beside the ship's weapons cache full of M41A pulse-rifles and M240 flamethrowers. He looks at his last remaining friend, Bishop who's vast knowledge and android faculties allow him to be their best chance at overcoming all the problems that stand before them. He looks at the ship's weapons control console, and the massive firepower that it's capable of launching. And finally, he looks at the flight computer and sees that is has begun downloading the global map data from the Probe.

"We wait, Bishop. We wait until we have Ripley's position. Then we'll fly down there and locate her and her friends. After that, we're going to find the Sulaco. And when we do, I'll use its arsenal to wipe out every last Alien off the face of that Planet. Just like how Ripley wanted it. Afterwards, I'm gonna ram a nuclear warhead up Esdeath's ass and blow her straight to Acheron. Either the LV-426 planet or that river in Hell, whichever comes first." Hicks walks over to the supply boxes and opens one. He pulls out a standard issue M3 body armor, and smoothly slips it on. From another box, he pulls out an M37A2 Shotgun and began loading it with shells. _Ch-chk!_ He then, slings the loaded Shotgun across his back and walks towards the weapons cache. As he starts loading every weapon with its respective ammunition he talks to Bishop "I don't know how we got here, Bishop. And I don't know if we can ever go back to Earth. That's for you to figure out. But in the meantime, I'm not letting THIS world get consumed by Monsters. Be it Human or Xenomorph, It doesn't matter which. I'll fight them all, right down to the last bullet and blade."

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

In the forest to the north of the Colony, The Danger Beast, Alpha Boar noses around a thick underbrush looking for food. The explosion from two days ago, had sent the Danger Beast scurrying from its home. When everything calmed down, it wandered back to reestablish its territory. Nearby something let out an intimidating hiss, causing the Danger Beast to stand still and perk its ears to listen. After a moment, nothing happens and with a snort, the Danger Beast resumes its foraging. Suddenly, a devastatingly sharp object skewers the side of the Alpha Boar and lifts its impaled body upwards. The Danger Beast shakes its head violently, hoping to gore it's assailant with its massive tusks, but to no avail. Two large grotesquely powerful arms descend from above and grabs the wounded Danger Beast, holding it in place as the sharp object slips out of its body. Then, in a single effortless motion, the arms tear the Alpha Boar in half.

In its last moment of life, the butchered Danger Beast looks up and sees the Alien Queen descend gracefully from a canopy above the trees. As darkness takes the Danger Beast's consciousness, it last sees a horde of smaller Aliens gather from all over the forest to surround the Queen.

After killing the Danger Beast, the Queen looks around to see her brood assembled and awaiting by her will. She perks her head up and extends her senses to the far reaches of the forest. There is Life everywhere. All across the four corners of this world, life has flourished in abundance. All hers to do what she wills, and her will is simple. Capture every single lifeform she can use to breed her species and rebuild her Hive. And kill every single creature that tries to stop her, or can't be of any use to her. Her kind will take over this entire planet and so many more, when the opportunity presents itself.

The Queen turns her head northwards and focus her senses. Other lifeforms are fast approaching this place. Lifeforms, very similar to the ones that gave birth to her and her brood on the planet she formerly resided on. She makes her way North, towards the direction the lifeforms are coming from, with her brood following close behind. Her wounds are nearly healed, but it will take time for her to grow another egg sac. Fortunately, her brood has managed to retrieve and safeguard a significant amount of eggs from the Nest. Before it was destroyed by the treacherous lifeform that attacked her and her freshly laid eggs, and before the catastrophic explosion that destroyed the Hive and rendered the area inhospitable.

These incoming lifeforms will serve as new breeding hosts with which to replenish her losses, after the failed attack on the lifeforms to the South. And then, her and her brood shall go forth and take every lifeform they come across. By teeth and claw and tail blade. By deafening screech and acid blood and cocoon secretions. By Face Hugger and Chest Burster and Brood Warrior. And finally, by the dense foliage of the forest and the vast expanse of the wilderness and the cover of night.

Chapter 2 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback will be appreciated. If you have any questions let me know with PM. Next chapter, Heroes unite for a common goal and Villains clash to determine the deadliest of species.


	4. Chapter 3

To All Readers: I wanted this chapter done by Halloween, but the contents are just too long. So, I've decided to spilt it into two chapters. Tell me what you all think. Again all feedback will be appreciated, so don't be shy just speak your thoughts. This is the Internet, so take advantage and give your opinions.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 3 : Hostile

 **Headquarters of the Revolutionary Army, South of the Empire**

Mine was having a nightmare.

("She sees Sheele, standing there with a bullet in her back and helplessly stunned. In the distance was Seryu, her face horrifyingly warped and murderously demented with the smoking barrel of a hidden gun protruding from her mouth. Sheele looks beside her, just in time to see the massive tail blade of the Alien Queen impale into her and bring her towards its gaping mouth. Sheele calls out to Mine and tells her to run away, just before the Queen's secondary mouth shoots out and tears her in half…")

Mine opens her eyes and gasps in rapid unsteady breaths. In front of her, was Tatsumi holding her by the shoulders and trying to shake her awake "Mine! Wake up! We've arrived at HQ." the pink haired sharpshooter looked at Tatsumi and shoved him away, she looked down and sees herself covered in his white jacket. She picks it up and threw it at the green eyed fighter. Everyone aboard the Air Manta, stares at her with concern. All except Leone, who was still asleep and was being shaken and kicked awake by Akame and Lubbock.

"Are you alright, Mine? You were mumbling and tossing in your sleep. Was it bad dreams?" asked Tatsumi

Mine frowns and gets up "It's none of your business." she answers and Tatsumi makes a hurt expression.

Ripley had her arms crossed, as she observes the genius sniper's prickly nature. The former Warrant Officer places a compassionate hand on Tatsumi's shoulder "Don't let it get to you, kid. Not everyone stays bitter all the time." The new member of Night Raid starts to feel better and gives Ripley an appreciative grin.

The Air Manta, descends towards a wide open space within the center of the Revolutionary Army's Main Base. Ripley looks around her and sees a multitude of rebel personnel wearing suit jackets, ties and round helmets, going about the base with purpose and diligence. Some were marching in formation, others were running back and forth delivering paperwork and messages. Most were too busy and focused on their work, to look up at the arrival of Night Raid.

From among them, a woman with long hair and large bangs held up by a headband and a giant pair of scissors strapped across her back, walked up towards the Air Manta and addresses Najenda with a salute "Commander Najenda. It's good to see you and Night Raid back from your mission."

Najenda returns the salute and speaks "Get a hold of High Command. Tell them, Night Raid completed the assignment and have brought back guests and urgent news."

The female soldier dons a look of concern, and eyes Ripley and Newt suspiciously. Then, she nods dutifully and says "We've set a barracks aside for you all to rest and refresh yourselves" she points to a small building with a banner of an owl in front of a full moon insignia, hanging next to the front door "we'll send for you, once High Command has assembled for the briefing." The female soldier makes another salute, and ran towards a large building with a banner of a black cross hanging over the entrance. Back at the Air Manta, Newt noticed Mine was staring longingly at the female soldier's giant scissor weapon.

Najenda turns to her subordinates "All right everyone, disembark. Get settled in at the barracks and stand by for our next assignment." She looks at Ripley "You and Newt, come with me. There's someone I'd like for you to see before the meeting." Ripley and Newt follow Night Raid's leader, while the other members began unloading their supplies, the Marine equipment boxes, and a still sleeping Leone towards their quarters.

"Incredible! You two may be extraterrestrials, but from what I can tell, you both are very much the same as us." Said the Doctor with a pair of thick gloves, as he pressed his stethoscope against Newt's back and measures her breathing and heart rate. Next to them was Ripley putting her jacket back on after her examination, and Najenda with her arms crossed patiently waiting for the Doctor to finish examining Newt.

Najenda sighs "Doctor, could you please hurry up? There'll be more time to study our visitors. All I ask for you to do, is quickly determine whether Ripley or Newt carry any harmful diseases. Be it viral, bacterial, or parasitic…" she eyes Ripley cautiously, who looks at the Doctor with a worried expression.

The Doctor removes his stethoscope from Newt's back, sits back in his chair, and lights a cigarette "Thanks to my Imperial Arm, Perfector, I was able to perform fast and accurate checkups on these two." He picks up a sheet of paper containing notes and reads it "To the best of my knowledge, they don't seem to carry any diseases, pathogens, or parasites."

Ripley breaths a sigh of relief, as the Doctor continues "Although, you should be aware that the girl here is slightly malnourished" he points to Newt "And the woman is sleep deprived" he points at Ripley "I recommend a steady diet of simple soups and stew for the girl, until her stomach grows strong enough to process normal food. And for you Ripley, a strict schedule of at least 8 hours of sleep. Also, this isn't that serious but you both should know that your molecular density is slightly lower than that of the average person in this world. It means your bodies are "softer" than compared to myself or Commander Najenda here. So you both should take care when applying yourselves to any rigorous activities."

Ripley shrugs "That comes as no surprise. I was born on a moon that orbits my original world, very similar to the red one that's up above your night's sky. And Newt was born on another moon in a star system, thousands of light years away. Both moons have a slightly weaker gravity than that of Earth and this planet."

Before the Doctor can voice his astonishment, Najenda cuts in and grabs Ripley and Newt by the hand "Thanks for the help, Doctor. But, we really need to go get ready for the meeting. You'll receive a full briefing report of their story, when the meeting finishes." She rushes her charges out of the infirmary.

"Welcome back. How'd it go?" asked Tatsumi when Najenda, Ripley and Newt entered the barrack. His leader looks at him and answers "Well, these two aren't carrying a risk of contagion at the very least. Still, I need you and Mine to visit the infirmary and have the Doctor examine you both for the same reason. Just to be safe."

Mine began to protest "Ma'am, I feel fine. You should just have Tatsumi go. He's the one who got injured." Her hands were behind her back. She was hiding something. Ripley noticed one of the supply boxes was opened, so she walked up to the pink haired gunner and held out her hand expectantly.

Mine goes quiet and gives back Ripley's Pulse Rifle/Flamethrower. "This isn't a toy. So don't touch it without asking" warned Ripley. Mine ignored her and asked "What does the other gun do? I've only seen you use the one that shoots fully automatic and its lower barrel firing explosive rounds."

Ripley smirked "That's the Pulse Rifle. It fires 99 rounds of armor piercing bullets and the lower barrel is the Grenade Launcher, capable of firing high explosive shells. The other gun is the Flamethrower, able to let out a stream of fire at 50 meters max. It's really useful, the Aliens hate fire."

The genius sniper frowned "Then why didn't you use it when that Alien Horde attacked us, back at the Colony?" Ripley points at the Flamethrower's fuel canister "It's empty and I don't have the means to refuel it." Mine eyes the Flamethrower thoughtfully "What kind of fuel does it take?"

"Slow burning, pressurized napalm" Ripley answered and Mine narrowed her eyes in deep thought "Not sure what that stuff is, but what if I can provide a substitute? We've got plenty of flammable chemicals, here on this base."

Ripley shrugs and offers the weapon back "Whatever. Just don't burn yourself." The pink clad assassin smiles brightly and accepts "You got it! If I successfully refuel it, you let me try it out on a practice range. Deal?" the former Warrant Officer concedes and nods. Mine grins smugly "When I go visit the Doctor, I'll have him assist me right away!"

"Ha! We really should have Ms. Sticky Fingers here examined. See what's made her become such a kleptomaniac." Argued Tatsumi.

"But Tatsumi. You were the only one to get cut by an Alien" countered Akame. Her eyes grew dull as she steps towards him with arms out reaching for his clothes.

Tatsumi backs away while blushing "I'm alright, Akame. Really." In a desperate bid to escape her strip search, he runs to one of the bunk beds and climbs to the top. As he settles at the top bunk, the green eyed fighter suddenly notices his left hand was resting on something soft and round. He looks down and realizes the bed is currently occupied by an equally blushing Chelsea. She was laying there beneath him, wearing her long-sleeved shirt with the top three buttons undone exposing a slender neck and upper chest portion which rose and fell between her steady breathing. Her black vest was hanging off one of the bed posts. The sheets covered her left leg while her right leg stayed uncovered, showing its slender shape, bare foot, and smooth thigh, leading up into her checkered skirt that covered everything between her hips and up to her slim waist. The last bit of exposed skin was her flat stomach and cute bellybutton that her untucked shirt failed to cover for being ruffled up. Her long voluminous reddish-brown hair spilled over her shoulders and spread out, covering most of the upper parts of the bed. Tatsumi sat there on top of her, paralyzed by a sudden realization about his fellow assassin. "She Is Beautiful, Absolutely Gorgeous" was all that came to mind.

"Um…" Tatsumi began, still dumbstruck at his comrade's exuberant beauty. Then he quickly came to realize what he was doing. His legs were wrapped around Chelsea, with his knees resting beside both sides of her hips, and his groin hovered dangerously close above her pelvic region. He noticed his left hand that supported his weight was resting atop both of Chelsea's arms, pinning them down by the wrists above her head. And his right hand was loosely grasping one of her soft and shapely medium sized breasts. Tatsumi was beyond embarrassed by the awkward position he found himself in, and too shocked to try to move. All he could do now was stare into Chelsea's eyes as they start to flare up in anger, before relaxing and begin to appear sultry.

"I guess I can't leave you alone then, can't I?" Chelsea murmurs softly. Then, she angrily plants a foot on Tatsumi's chest and kicks him off the bunk bed "Next time you come on to me like that while I'm taking a nap, I'm cutting it off!"

Tatsumi lands on the floor with a loud thud, then he looks up and asks terrified "You'll be cutting what off!?"

Leone calls out from the bottom bunk, while holding her head in pain "Keep it down, will ya? My head's killing me."

Najenda sighs and whistles to get everyone's attention "Alright! That's enough screwing around! Tatsumi, take Leone to the infirmary with you. Maybe the Doctor can help treat her hangover. Mine, go with them…"

Ripley raises her hand to interrupt "Actually, Najenda. Is it alright if she attends the meeting with us, first? She's seen the Aliens up close and should know full well of their battle capabilities. She's also seen Tatsumi get hurt, even when wearing his armor. I like her to be material witness and help corroborate the major threat, the Aliens represent." The leader of Night Raid shrugs her indifference "Fine, she comes with us. As for the rest of you. Akame is in charge while I'm gone, and nobody touches what's in those crates without my say so or Ripley's." she gives Mine a stern look.

Newt walks up to the opened supply box and takes out Spectator's headpiece. She gives Ripley a thumbs up to show her readiness in helping tell their story to High Command.

The barrack's front door swung open, and the female soldier from earlier stepped inside and saluted "Commander Najenda, High Command is assembled and waiting for you." Najenda nods and along with Ripley, Newt and Mine, followed the female soldier out the door.

 **Above the Empire's Atmosphere, Outer Space**

Hicks was removing the bandage off his face and felt his cheek afterwards "Ugh, there's scarring. If only we were back at Earth, then maybe I could get a skin graft." He sighs and checks his other acid wounds. They would all have scars, thanks to the acid's deep burns. But, the pain has finally gone away. Behind him, Bishop walks up and taps his shoulder "Corporal. Regarding Earth, I may have a possible theory as to how and why we're sent to this place. Do you have a minute?" the Marine looks at his assembled weapons cache. Fully loaded Pulse Rifles, Flamethrowers, and Smartguns are lined up and stowed on racks. He also looks at the glowing screen of the Ship's computer and sees that its download is about half finished.

"Alright, go ahead." Hicks replied. The Synthetic began to explain "You should understand, that without any data or hard evidence, my theory can only be nothing more than mere conjecture at this point…" the Corporal interrupts "Just tell me anyways. By now, I'd be happy with a random guess." Bishop nods and resumes "First off. I'm "guessing" as to how we came to this planet, was through the process of faster than light travel via hyperspace"

Hicks frowned in confusion "That can't be. In order to undergo faster than light travel, we need a vessel with hyperspace capabilities and hypersleep chambers to survive the event of time-space rupture."

Bishop nods in confirmation and continues "But what if both conditions can be provided by remote?" Hicks shakes his head "Again, that's impossible. That kind of technology would lie beyond anything Colonial Administration or even Weyland-Yutani can produce. That kind of feat isn't humanly possible." The Marine's eyes light up in realization at hearing his own words "You're talking about the Derelict! The one Ripley and the Nostromo crew found!".

The Android grinned at seeing the Corporal figuring out the riddle "Yes. In her report, Ripley described the ship as ancient yet far more advanced than our modern vessels. And according to the logs, back at the Colony, the colonist went on to explain the eggs discovered there were covered by an unknown mist. With a ship as ancient as it was and the eggs still viable to infect all who ventured within, I'm willing to bet my programming that this mist is a form of climate control that keeps the eggs preserved indefinitely. Just like how our hypersleep chambers preserves an individual."

Hicks took a moment to ponder the Synthetic's logic "Okay, you got me sold on the Derelict's capacity for remote hypersleep. But, what about hyperspace? What makes you think that's what brought us here, and that the Derelict was responsible?" Bishop shakes his head "Honestly, I can't say for sure. I'm only going along the lines of established facts. That ship has been considered a wreck, but continues functioning for at least one purpose." The Marine raises an eyebrow "What purpose is that?" The Android makes a grim face and answers "The continued existence of the Xenomorph species."

The Corporal paced between the cockpit and the weapons cache in the back, processing Bishop's assessment so far. He stops and turns to the Science Officer "So you're saying, you don't know how we came to be transported here. But, you figured out the why." Bishop nods his head "Yes. I may not know how it was done, but it stands to reason the Derelict acted in its interest of saving the Aliens from the explosion of the Atmosphere Processor. It may have projected a preservation field to envelope the entire colony and everything in it before initiating hyperspace."

Hicks nods in understanding "I get it now. We were also transported along with the colony, because the field itself is an all-encompassing expansion. It can't narrow in on an individual, so it takes everything and leaves the compromised environment behind. In this case, a barren planet being devastated by thermonuclear explosion."

Bishop looks surprised "That's quite sharp of you to figure out my theory, before I explained it in whole. And you're only a Corporal? You could've easily outranked Sergeant Apone or even Lieutenant Gorman, if you applied for an officer's commission." The Corporal shrugs nonchalantly "I Didn't feel like it"

Hicks looks out the cockpit window and down to the planet's surface. The globe bears a striking resemblance to Earth. The only difference is its primary color is green, instead of blue. Much of the continent he saw is heavily forested and there's at least one ocean towards the east. The local Moon is about the same size as Luna, back at Earth, but this one here is red and not white. Probably made from different minerals to get that color.

"Bishop. Is there any reason to think the Derelict is down there somewhere? Could it have transported itself here as well? And what about the Sulaco? Might it have been brought here also? Assuming your mass teleportation theory holds true." Hicks asked the Android.

Bishop answers "It's likely the case. If the Derelict functions to safeguard and transport the Xenomorphs, it wouldn't have allowed itself to stay behind. And as for the Sulaco, whether it came here with us or not, doesn't matter. As long as we can find the Derelict, there's a chance we can reverse its actions and take us back."

The Corporal smiled upon hearing this, as he continued to stare down towards the planet. Somewhere down there, lies their one hope of getting home. Hicks has no doubts about it now. It made every bit of sense. "Finally." He thought "A real plan to follow". The Marine takes another look at the Ship's computer "Not much longer now. Just a few more hours."

"Another night, down on the surface. We'll have Ripley's position by morning." Bishop corrected. Hicks turns to the Science Officer "Let's hope Ripley and Newt can last that long. She said they're among friends? I wonder what kind of people they are."

Bishop smiles reassuringly "They've managed to escape the Aliens and contact us. I'm certain her friends are extremely reliable."

 **Revolutionary Army Main Base, South of the Empire**

"We regret to inform you Lieutenant Ripley, but we've decided not to divert our efforts into the extermination of these ALIENS you described." The Revolutionary Army's Supreme Commander gave Ripley their final decision, and she felt her stomach plunge in disappointment "Please reconsider! You heard from your subordinates themselves, and Newt here even used Spectator to show in full detail the events that transpired all the way up to this moment. The Aliens pose a true threat to your world and everything in it!" She insisted.

The Commander in Chief gave her a stern look. He was a middle-aged man, possibly late 40s-early 50s, well-built and clad in armor, he also wore a standard round helmet, and has a hardened face with a large scar over his closed right eye. His expression soften and he began to explain "Please understand Lieutenant. We are all well aware that this Xenomorph species are a danger to us all. But, you must also know this army is made up of malcontents and idealists who want to make a change and build a better world than the one they live in."

Ripley was about to say "I know. I saw the commercials", but remembered that these people aren't Weyland-Yutani. The Commander continued "Najenda here once told you of our founding cause. The corruption of the Empire has destroyed countless lives, long before the Aliens came to plague us. Every single member in this Army has already lost something or someone precious to them. It would be impossible to convince them to abandon or postpone our goals. Too much has been sacrificed for us to make it this far."

Ripley took a close look at every member of this Assembly. Their eyes shown with determination, accompanied by sadness, pain and despair. She recognized the look in their eyes, because she had those same eyes when she looked in the mirror. Back when she lived in her small apartment with Jones the Cat, after the Company's inquiry left her jobless and alone. Just before Burke and Lieutenant Gorman came to her, to offer a chance at redemption by joining their ill-fated expedition to LV-426 and relive the nightmare.

These people of the Revolutionary Army are just as committed to destroying the Empire, as Ripley is committed to destroying the Aliens. "There must be a way for us to come to an agreement and work together" she thought. Earlier, she pondered the idea of contacting the Empire to negotiate a truce and request help in fighting the Xenomorphs. But from what everyone here claims, the Empire is just as bad as Weyland-Yutani and the Aliens for that matter. A whole nation run by people with the bodies of humans and with the hearts of monsters, far worse than the ones she's been fighting. "Evil comes in many forms, both in man and nature." She concluded.

"If the Empire is finally overthrown, what then?" Ripley asked. The Commander in Chief calmly answers "Then, rest assured. We will focus all our efforts towards eradicating the Aliens. We're already on the brink of making our last move against the Empire. Which, brings us to Night Raid's next assignment" he turns towards Najenda "Your team is hereby ordered to once again resume efforts in the elimination of the Prime Minister's spy, Borick. And allow the religious sect, The Path of Peace to begin their uprising. We'll stick with the plan, and launch an offensive of our own. Along with our allies the Western Tribes, we'll besiege the Empire on three fronts." Night Raid's leader salutes and nods in response.

"We've recently learned from our own spies, that the Jaegers have been delayed in their search for Night Raid and have been diverted to join up with the Empire's Expeditionary Force. Who are currently marching their way through the southern wilderness, towards the valley containing the Hadley Colony." The Supreme Commander takes a map from a nearby subordinate and lays it out on a table in front of the Assembly "Our scouts predict the Expeditionary Force will have reached and established camp at the base of this mountain on the North side of the Valley, by this evening."

Ripley walks up to the table and looks at the map "My God! They're going straight towards where the Aliens were last seen!" the Commander makes a grim smile "Yes. We're hoping that both our enemies would collide and annihilate each other. That's the best case scenario. In the worst case, one foe would remain for us to deal with."

Ripley's stomach filled with dread. Those Imperial Soldiers have no idea of the horror, they're getting themselves into. "Any idea, what the number of their forces are?" she asked. A teenage girl, accompanied by a large muscular man approached her "It's about 100. They're a reconnaissance group, broken off from a main force of 1,500 that is currently stationed at the Empire's southernmost outpost. It seems they plan to scout the area ahead, while they wait for the Jaegers to rendezvous with them. Then they'll all proceed forward in full force towards the Colony."

Ripley sighed inwardly and commented "That's quite a number. It'll be hard to tell who comes out on top. The Aliens, or the Empire." Everyone in the Assembly nods in agreement

"And the Jaegers will be caught up in the fray. That gives us a golden opportunity to infiltrate the main church of the Path of Peace in the city of Kyoroch, and assassinate Borick." explained Najenda. The teenage girl turns to her "Please, be careful! We've also learned that the Four Rakshasa Demons have been sent there to act as bodyguards for Borick."

"It seems that the Prime Minister is still determined to protect his little spy. Even with his forces spread thin." The Commander in Chief turns to Najenda again "The Four Rakshasa Demons are no trifle. Think your team can handle them?" Najenda grins and nods "Most, definitely! My group is still at full fighting strength, even after our recent assignment."

"If it's all the same, I'd like to accompany Night Raid for their next objective." Ripley declared. Everyone at the Assembly stared at the former Warrant Officer with concern. "This isn't some family picnic, Lieutenant. Najenda and her team of assassins are the most elite fighters of the Revolutionary Army. Tasked with the most dangerous assignments. And a survival ratio of 1 in 3 chances a member would perish in the line of duty." warned the Supreme Commander.

Ripley was undeterred "I know the risks. Which is why I want to go with them. I'm certain Night Raid will be the ones to save us all, from this crisis. I'll bring all my weapons and technology to bear, in aiding the cause." The Commander in Chief crossed his arms and everyone else in the Assembly all murmured amongst themselves. "Have you ever killed anyone? If you or a member of the team get into a life and death situation, will you be willing to take a life to ensure victory? And what of those who wield Imperial Arms, like the Jaegers? Can you say for sure that you or the little girl with you, would be willing to lay down your lives and stand against such overwhelming odds? Knowing that either one of you might not survive the encounter?"

Ripley took a moment to think before answering "I have killed before." Her thoughts drifted to Dallas and Brett, whom she had incinerated back on the Nostromo. To spare them their fate at the hands of the Alien. "And I have seen men and women die around me, during the struggle to survive against the Aliens." She thought back on Parker and Lambert, after they were mercilessly slaughtered by the creature. The same for the Hadley colonists and most of the Marines, shortly afterwards. And of Vasquez, Gorman and Hudson, who gave their lives to ensure that Newt, Hicks and herself could make it to safety. "We've been close to death before, on more than one occasion. But, we've beaten those odds. Newt here, has done it twice over with no weapons or Imperial Arms." She looks down at Newt and touches the Spectator headpiece. She then looks over at Najenda and Mine "It's thanks to Night Raid, that me and Newt are still alive. So I'll fight, no matter who it may be, to pay them back and protect the people I care about."

Newt spoke up with conviction in her voice "I'm not afraid. I won't let the Monsters take any more of my friends away. So I'll fight too. Even against the Aliens and the Bad People." Mine looks at her, surprised like everyone else by the little girl's courageous declaration.

Najenda stepped forward and spoke "Sir, you should know that these two were instrumental to our survival of the Alien onslaught at the Hadley Colony. From the moment we met, Ripley has done everything to look out for our safety. If it wasn't for her, Night Raid would've suffered heavy losses or even wiped out." She places a hand on Ripley's shoulder "They've come from a world far beyond our own, but they possess a strength few of us can match to make it this far. In our line of work, I'd take any form of help from anybody who offers. The weapons and technology she and her friends possess, far outstrips anything the Empire has. With them on our side, Night Raid might have a straight up chance in taking down the Jaegers, as well as any other pawns the Empire might throw at us." Beside her, Ripley nods her head in assurance.

The Commander in Chief shrugs and relents "Very well. It's you all's decision. Ripley and Newt, consider the men and women of the Revolutionary Army as your friends. You're welcome among us, and the same goes for your comrades Hicks and Bishop. Let's all work together to bring about an era of Freedom and Justice to this world." He offers Ripley a hand, and she shook it "And also, the survival of the Human Race." The former Warrant Officer adds.

Throughout the Assembly, everyone applauded and cheered at this newfound alliance and lined up to shake hands with Ripley and Newt. Afterwards, a few people at a time began to leave the building to resume their duties within the base. The only ones left were Najenda, Ripley, Mine, Newt, the teenage spy and her muscled companion, and a few Revolutionary Army Officers including the Supreme Commander.

"And you're certain, the Aliens have an aversion to fire?" the Commander asks, and Ripley nods "Yes. None of the creatures have ever tried to go through open flames. You can stall a whole pack of them without risk. Burning them is the best option for combating the Xenomorphs. Stabbing or bludgeoning them with swords, spears or axes are out of the question. Their acid-blood can melt all forms of metal and armor. Shooting at them has to be done from a safe distance, to avoid the acid from spraying all over you."

The Commander in Chief turns his fellow Officers "Get the word out to our Sentries. Tell them to dig Fire Trenches, along our outer perimeter. From now on, when the Sun goes down, they're to light the trenches with fire and keep them burning until Sunrise. Also, have them equipped with whatever firearms we can spare. Use bow and arrows and crossbows, if you have to. Make sure they use fire arrows, as well."

Mine raises her hand "And can you send over a barrel of the fuel, you'll be using for the Fire Trenches? I have need of some of it." The Officers salute and departed on their task of giving instructions to the Guardsmen.

Najenda gives the Supreme Commander a salute as well "We'll depart for Kyoroch, as soon as we are able." The Commander in Chief returns the salute "Good luck out there, and try to hurry. The Aliens can serve as a distraction for the Empire, and will give the Revolutionary Army the element of surprise. We'll have our scouts try to gather information on the turnout of the impending confrontation. And we'll also have our spies aid you in infiltrating the Path of Peace" he turns and nods to the teenage girl, who salutes and leaves the Assembly along with her companion. Najenda and Ripley also left the Assembly, with Mine and Newt following close behind.

"So, how soon will we be leaving?" asked Ripley. Najenda counts off the number of hours in her head "We need to restock on our supplies, and the Air Manta needs rest. Give it about, till tomorrow morning. We'll leave at first light and head for Kyoroch's outer city limits. The spy team will have set up a hideout for us, by the time we get there. Then, we'll all work together in tandem and come up with a plan to assassinate Borick."

Newt calls out from behind "What are the Four Rakshasa Demons?" Night Raid's leader explains "They're a deadly group of warriors under the direct employment of the Prime Minister. They fight, using various forms of Martial Arts and a unique skill called Body Manipulation. They can twist and reform their own bodies to adapt and overcome enemy attacks, even against Imperial Arms."

Mine shrugs and boasts "Big deal! Bring them on, I say! Me and Pumpkin can blast them all away in one shot." Najenda bumps her fist against the side of Mine's head and Ripley slaps her upside the back. "Don't ever assume, you know your opponents in a fight! You underestimate them, and it's over for you and your comrades." Warned Night Raid's leader. "Yeah! Don't go inviting a fight, so recklessly like that! You should only battle when absolutely necessary, and you do it when you have all the advantages." Added the former Warrant Officer. Mine held her head while being scolded. Tears began to form in the genius sniper's eyes. Curious, Newt activated Spectator's Insight ability and looked at Mine.

("A tall woman with long purple hair, wearing eyeglasses and a purple dress brandishes a large pair of scissors. She cuts off an enormous arm belonging to a giant dog-like beast, that had Mine caught in its severed fist. The woman stands up straight and murmurs "just in time". Suddenly someone shoots a bullet into her back, paralyzing her. Off to the side, with the smoking barrel of a gun protruding from her mouth, was a young woman with auburn hair tied into a long ponytail and missing the front of her arms. Her face was horribly twisted and warped. She looked like one of the Aliens, so hideously savage and murderous. "Justice is Served" the psychotic young woman exclaims, and the tall purple haired woman looked to her side to see an impossibly large gaping mouth line with rows upon rows of sharp teeth. The giant Dog-Monster lunged forward and tears the tall woman in half.")

Newt quickly deactivates Spectator's Insight ability and looks at Mine again "You lost a close friend, didn't you? She died, trying to fight the Bad People." The pink haired assassin's tears began to flow freely "Shut up! You have no idea, what I've been through, or who I've lost!" Mine yells, her voice breaking in a low sob.

Newt ignores Mine's outburst and hugs her tight "Don't think, you're the only one who feels like that. I've also lost people I loved." The little girl activates Spectator's Illusion Sight ability and shows the genius sniper a vision of Newt's memories.

("Inside an examination room, a middle-aged man resembling Newt, was screaming out in pain as his chest explodes in a spray of blood. And a small Alien creature erupts from the chest wound, with a high pitch squeal.") The vision changes ("A crowd of frightened people are huddled together in a tight spaced room. Outside the only door leading out of the room, they hear other people screaming and Aliens screeching. It suddenly goes quiet, except for the voice of someone outside the door pleading to be let in. One of the people in the room panics and opens the door. The voice belonged to the bloody upper remains of a man, who was barely left alive and trying to open the door on his own. Behind him, stood a countless horde of Aliens. They swarmed into the room, and began attacking everybody. At the back of the room, a woman resembling Newt was shooting at the Aliens, using a small pistol sidearm to defend herself, Newt and a boy who was about a year older. Seeing no chance of repelling the Aliens, the woman turns the gun on her children. Hoping to end their lives, instead of letting the Aliens take them. Too late. An Alien impales the woman's back with its bladed tail. As the woman falls dead, the boy picks up the gun and shoots the Alien. Only to have its acidic blood spray out all over his face. Newt stumbles back into a ventilation duct. In desperation, she crawls into the small shaft and escapes to the safety of the maze-like ventilation network. Leaving behind the colonists and the Aliens, who are too big to fit inside the air duct.")

Newt deactivates Illusion Sight, and Mine went silent after witnessing Newt's nightmarish past. "You see?" Newt explains "You're not the only one, who's in pain." Mine hugs Newt back, and they both stand there in a quiet embrace for a moment.

Ripley and Najenda stand beside them, and waited for Mine to finish composing herself. After she calms down, Ripley spoke "Mine. You mustn't forget, we are all fighting together from here on out. Know your strengths and limitations. Also, learn of our skills and shortcomings as well. When we combine our abilities and work together, nothing can stand against us. Not the Empire, the Jaegers, or the Aliens." Najenda nods and adds "You're our cherished comrade and a strong fighter, Mine. When we win this war, I want all of us to be there, alive and happily celebrating our victory."

Mine wipes away her tears with the sleeve of her pink dress and quietly nods. Newt, who was still hugging her, looks up at her "And also. Can you please, be a little nicer to Tatsumi? He's a very nice guy and he cares a lot about everyone around him, including you." The pink haired sharpshooter quietly nods again, after hearing the little girl's request.

Najenda looks up at the sky and noticed the sun is starting to set. "It's getting late. We should all be getting some rest, back at the barracks. Mine, don't forget to see the Doctor first. Check on Tatsumi and Leone. Be sure to send them back when they're finished."

Ripley adds "And be careful when you're handling my weapon. I'm trusting in you and that Doctor, to know what you're doing." Mine grins and gently mounts the pulse-rifle/flamethrower over her shoulder, after letting go of Newt. She then leaves them, and walks straight towards the Infirmary.

"Thanks, you two." Najenda voices her appreciation to Ripley and Newt "Mine's always been stubborn and hot-blooded, so it's always tough to get her to keep her attitude in check and work well with others." Ripley turns to her "Has she always been like this?" the leader of Night Raid shakes her head "No. She had a friend named Sheele, who was her partner for the longest time. Until, during their last mission together. They were ambushed by an Imperial Soldier, who was using a monstrous biological Imperial Arm. Mine was able to get away, but Sheele lost her life during the skirmish. I think she blames herself, for what happened back then." The former Warrant Officer looks over at the infirmary, then at Newt, who nods her head and confirms the story is true.

"Any idea, who the Soldier was? And, what exactly is this biological Imperial Arm?" asked Ripley. Najenda pulls a cigarette from out of her pocket and lights it. Beside her, the former Warrant Officer eyes the cigarette longingly and Night Raid's leader offers one. "Her name is Seryu Ubiquitous. She was a member of the Imperial Police, until she was later promoted and assigned into joining the Jaegers. Now, she's actively hunting us members of Night Raid, alongside her Imperial Arm, Koro, a small dog-like creature capable of instantly growing into a monster sized beast, and has enormous strength and ferocity to match." Najenda continues, as they smoked their cigarettes.

Ripley exhales and speaks "Seryu. One of the people, Tatsumi mentioned. How was he able to learn so much about her and the Jaegers?" Najenda also exhales smoke, and answers "A short time before you and Newt came to this world, Tatsumi was abducted and held against his will by General Esdeath, the leader of the Jaegers. Esdeath became infatuated with him, and tried to make him her lover and a new member of the Jaegers. But opportunity presented itself and Tatsumi was able to escape, right after learning the identities of the other Jaeger members."

Ripley narrowed her eyes, as she processed this information "So, who are the other members of the Jaegers?" she asked. Najenda began saying a list of names "There's Esdeath, the Jaegers' leader. She's a General of the Imperial Army and a high ranking military official. And I'm not exaggerating when I say, she's the Empire's most strongest. She's also cruel and sadistic, in ways you can never imagine."

The former Warrant Officer nods her head, fully believing the other woman's explanation. Najenda continues "Then there's her subordinates, the other Jaegers. One of them is named Run. He's a strategist and acts as a personal aide to Esdeath. There's Bols, a former member of the Incineration Squad, who's job was to burn down whole villages that where thought to hold contagious plagues or were accused of harboring and aiding rebels. According to Tatsumi, Bols is a family man with a wife and daughter, and an avid chef who usually cooks and serve the Jaegers their meals." Ripley felt sick to her stomach "How can that man get to raise a family, when he's murdered countless others." She asked. The leader on Night Raid shrugs and explains "That's the kind of place, the Empire is. The wicked and unjust flourish and prosper, while the kind and innocent suffer and die."

Ripley exhales some more smoke "I'm beginning to understand, why everyone here is so adamant in taking down the Empire as soon as possible. Monsters like those, don't deserve happiness."

Najenda exhales smoke again "Yes, but not everyone who works for the Empire are evil. Some are just simply misguided, or just plain ignorant. Like Wave, for example. He's one of the Jaegers, a kind and noble hearted young man. Very much like Tatsumi. Wave use to serve in the Imperial Navy, before being reassigned to the Jaegers." Ripley was skeptical "That's surprising. And here, I thought only the malevolent and immoral serve the Empire."

Najenda shakes her head "The Empire isn't above telling lies, and manipulating decent people into doing indecent things. Such, was the case for Seryu. Her father was an Officer of the Imperial Police, before his mysterious death. According to his partner, a man named Ogre, Mr. Ubiquitous was murdered in a random mugging and the perpetrator was caught. They executed the man, who professed his innocence, until his last breath. Word had it, that Ogre might have been involved. But, with no evidence and no one willing to investigate further, the case was closed indefinitely. Ogre was later promoted to Captain, and took to raising Seryu. Needless to say, the man was as evil and corrupt as they come. Taking bribes and framing more innocent people for his crimes. All while corrupting Seryu and twisting her mentality into believing wholeheartedly, that the Empire is righteous and just, whereas everyone and everything opposing it, is evil and wrong."

Ripley shuddered "That's fucked up. It's like the bastard's capable of spreading evil into others. Like an infectious disease." Najenda holds up a hand to interrupt "Relax. He won't bring harm to any more innocents. Tatsumi killed him, as per Night Raid's orders." The former Warrant Officer calms down "Did the truth ever get out? About, how much of a scumbag, Ogre really was?" Night Raid's leader shakes her head "No. He died, being remembered as a righteous hero. Especially, in the eyes of Seryu. Hence, her grudge and rabid obsession towards hunting and killing Us."

"Isn't there anybody left in the Empire, with a strong moral compass? Where is all this evil and corruption stemming from? How high, does this go?" Ripley asked. Najenda finished her cigarette and throws it on the ground. She crushes it beneath her foot and says "There is a main source. It's in the form of a man known as, Prime Minister Honest. He's there, at the top of all this darkness. Running the Nation from behind the back of the current Emperor, who's only a small child younger than Newt here. Anyone who opposes him are dealt with harshly. If they're common folks or lesser nobles, they're either executed publicly under false pretenses, like treason. Or, they're taken to the Torture Chamber beneath the Royal Palace, where they are tortured and slowly mutilated alive in brutal agony."

Ripley wanted to vomit, but instead she finishes her cigarette and got rid of it also. Najenda resumes talking "Higher-ranking Government Officials and Influential Nobles are dealt with differently. They are often killed in secret, by the Empire's Assassination Squad." Ripley wore a questioning look "Assassination Squad?". Night Raid's leader nods "They're exactly, what the name implies. A squad of assassins, trained since childhood, brainwashed and savagely conditioned to do one thing. Kill anyone, who poses a threat to the Empire." The former Warrant Officer narrowed her eyes "So, they're in the same line of work as Night Raid." Najenda nods and explains "You can say that. The difference is though, we've chosen to fight and kill for our goals. The Assassination Squad members are usually never given a choice. Most start off as impoverished children, sold as slaves and purchased by the Empire. Then, the Empire would weed out the weak ones by forcing them through a survival course full of Danger Beasts. Barely a handful, out of a hundred, survive the course."

Ripley gazed at Newt for a moment "Newt was in a similar circumstance, on LV-426. By the time the Colonial Marines came to the rescue, the little girl was reduced to a feral scavenger. Any sooner, and she might have forgotten how to be a human being" Najenda concurs "That's how it works. Strip down the children to their base instincts. Then, reshape them into merciless killers."

Ripley glared at Night Raid's leader accusingly "You seem to know a lot, about how it's done." Najenda raises her normal and mechanical hands in defense "It was done in secret. Me and Lubbock were part of a separate military division, before we defected and joined the Revolutionary Army. I later learned of it, through my subordinate Akame." The former Warrant Officer's Eyes widen "Akame was part of the Assassination Squad?" Najenda nods "Yes. Along with her younger sister, Kurome."

"Akame, has a sister?" Ripley asks, and Najenda nods again "Kurome is the last Jaeger, I haven't mentioned yet. Both Akame and Kurome, were members of the Assassination Squad. Until, Akame defected and joined Night Raid, while Kurome stayed with the Empire and was assigned to the Jaegers." Ripley was surprised "How can that have happened?" Najenda shrugs "I don't usually talk about someone else's past. If you really want to know, you must ask Akame. But, make no mistake. Kurome is our enemy. We must be ready to fight and kill her, because she would undoubtedly do the same. Even, against Akame, both of them won't hesitate to kill each other."

Ripley's shoulders slump in disbelief "That's fucking crazy!". Najenda agrees "That is the world we live in. That is why most of us fight to change it, so tragedies like that will never happen again." The former Warrant Officer was fed up with all the misery and suffering. She's starting to believe that perhaps, the Empire was the larger threat than the Aliens. All this insanity has to stop.

"I'm with you, until the end." Ripley declared, placing a hand on Najenda's shoulder "I know, I'm not an assassin. And I'm not a soldier either. I'm just some anal-retentive Flight Officer, without a job and who's in, WAY over her head. But, I promise you and the rest of Night Raid. That I will not rest, until the Empire and the Aliens are wiped off the face of this planet! For good!

Najenda hugs Ripley in a sisterly embrace "Thank you, Ripley. Let's work together and save this world!" Not to be left out, Newt squeezes in between the two women and wraps her arms around their waists. She then reaches for their hands, and clasps them tightly "Where you go, I go." She says decisively, and both women nod in understanding.

Ripley, Najenda and Newt continued walking towards the barracks. Behind them, Tatsumi and Leone stepped out of the Infirmary and jogged to catch up. Mine stood outside the Infirmary, talking with the Doctor. Beside them, a pair of soldiers carefully placed a large barrel with a red flame painting on its side. The Doctor gently removes the lid, to reveal the barrel is full of a dark viscous liquid. He looks over at Mine, who gives him a serious nod and calmly says "Let's get to work".

Inside the barracks, everyone made ready to go to bed and followed the sleeping arrangements. Akame was sleeping next to Leone, while Lubbock and Tatsumi slept above in the top bunk. Newt curled up next to Ripley and after a while, Mine walked in and climbed up the top bunk to lay beside Chelsea. Only Najenda had a bed to herself, and Susanoo stood watch by the door.

Ripley laid in bed with a sleeping Newt in her arms, thinking about the upcoming struggles they would soon face. It was dark inside the barracks, and Ripley couldn't even see Susanoo standing guard. But, for the first time since the Alien horrors turned her life into a living hell, she no longer felt frightened, lying in the dark. Instead, she felt rather safe surrounded by friends as they slept peacefully. Despite the tragedies and pain they endured at the hands of the Empire. And soon, they will all put their own lives at risk and wage terrible battles to bring about Freedom, Justice and the very survival of their own Species. Ripley closed her eyes, after whispering an apology "I'm sorry, Hicks. And you too, Newt. It looks like I got us involved in yet, another dangerous situation. Please, understand that this is the right thing to do." Ripley falls asleep and this time, no nightmares came to scare her awake.

 **Expeditionary Force Reconnaissance Group's Camp, North of Hadley's Hope**

The sky faded to twilight, as 1,300 Imperial Soldiers marched in formation through the forest wilderness and arrived at the Reconnaissance Group's camp. At their front, stood their leader General Nouken, a man brimming with muscles, covered in leather straps and a large cape hanging off his armored shoulders. With over a dozen men armed with lances at his side, the General looked around the camp with the same confused expression shared by his subordinates. The entire camp was empty. Not a single Reconnaissance Group member was here, to greet the main Expeditionary Force.

"Where in the Hell, is everybody? Why, is this camp abandoned?" Nouken asked, expecting one of his subordinates to provide an answer. One of them walks up behind the General and answers "Sir. Maybe, they were attacked by the Rebels."

Nouken frowns and looks around the campsite once more, and sees that there were signs of an attack. Broken weapons and bloody pieces of armor, lay scattered. Table and chairs, are overturned and knocked aside. Several tents lay strewn about. A few of them were half-pitched and most of the standing ones were torn apart and shredded, by something hideously sharp. Small puddles of blood, dotted the grounds throughout camp. But, there are no bodies around that owns them. Along the edges of the campsite, large thick trees and bushes encircled the camp grounds. Its borders are marked by the smoking pits of campfires, their flames having recently died out.

"What the Hell, happened here? It's as if everyone just...vanished." one of the subordinates spoke nervously. "Maybe, we should go back? And, wait for General Esdeath and the Jaegers to join us, like originally planned." He continued.

General Nouken was unfazed "Nonsense! Whoever did this, they are just men who got the drop on a group of 100. They can't do the same, against 1,300. So get your head on straight, and act like an Imperial Soldier." Most of the subordinates nearby began to calm down and relax, upon hearing the General's logic. Nouken began to shout orders "Tell the men to search the camp. Turn it inside and out. Look for any survivors or clues, as to what took place here."

The General walks towards a campfire pit, at the edge of camp near the forest. He looks up and sees the darkening sky's light, fading fast "And, get someone to light the fires back up. Before it gets too dark, to see anything. We will spend the night here, and wait for the Jaegers to catch up." Then Nouken murmured to himself in a low voice "I'll show that arrogant woman, how a real man takes charge." He turns to the first subordinate "I'm in the mood. Call Number 5 over for me."

The subordinate fidgets and explains "Number 5…umm. General. You literally split Number 5 in two, last time-" before the subordinate can finish his explanation, a pair of black and powerful exoskeletal arms shot out from behind some large bushes, grabbed him, and pulled him in with one swift and quiet motion. General Nouken had his back turned, and didn't notice. Instead, he continued to walk along the forest's edge. He felt his boot step on something strange, so he looked down and saw some sort of resinous slime stuck to the sole. Nouken tried to get it off with his hand and the slime only smeared him with strands of mucous. Behind him, he heard a twig snapped. The General turns around "Help me get some of this weird snot off my-" he stops talking and stares at the creature standing in front of him.

It was big, towering over the tall General by at least a foot, and hunched over in a predatory stance. The dark of night has taken over the skies, leaving only a silhouette outline of the creature to see. Until, in a low hiss, the creature flares open a part of its elongated head where its face and mouth should be, revealing sharp and silvery teeth that glistened in the dark. The creature's teeth part as it opens its mouth, and reveals a second set of jaws with more teeth inside.

Acting on reflex, General Nouken makes a grab for his sword and tries to draw it from its sheath. Too late. The Alien shoots out the secondary jaws from its mouth, and into Nouken's forehead. The last thing the General hears before dying, are the inhuman screeches of multiple attacking Aliens and the louder, more numerous screams of frightened men.

 **Above the Empire's Atmosphere, Outer Space**

"Corporal. Please, wake up." Hicks woke up to the sound of Bishop's voice. He then, leaned forward and stood up off the passenger's seat he's been sleeping on. "What's the situation, Bishop?" the Corporal asks groggily. "It's better, if I show you." The Synthetic replied.

Bishop led a drowsy Hicks towards the dropship's cockpit. The Corporal looked down at the Ship's computer, and the progress bar on its screen shows that it's downloaded about 98 percent of the Probe's global map data. "It's almost done. About a few more minutes. An hour, tops." He turns to the Android "Bishop. Prep the ship for atmospheric re-entry. The instant we get Ripley's position with the homing coordinates, take us in and bring us right on top of her. And, not literally."

"I didn't wake you to show you that, Corporal." Bishop points at the cockpit's viewport. The Marine looks out, at the planet below. On the surface, the light of the Sun began to spread across the continent they once flew over. The morning dawn of a new day started to shine on their side of the planet.

"It's very pretty, Bishop. But, what am I looking for." Suddenly a beeping noise can be heard, coming from the flight HUD in front of the pilot seat. Hicks looks at the glowing screen, and instantly recognized the message scrolled across "Alert. Proximity Warning. IFF Registration, Confirmed." the next set of letters stunned the Corporal and jolted him fully awake "U.S.S. SULACO"

Bishop walks up from behind Hicks, and points at the viewport window "Hicks. Straight ahead, 45 degrees, starboard." The Corporal follows the Android's directions and looks out at open space. An excited grin forms across the Marine's face, as he lays eyes on the source of his excitement.

There it was. Slowly powering its way through the blackness of space. Looking every bit as intimidating and battle ready as when it left Gateway Station, was the Conestoga-Class Starship of the Colonial Marines. The U.S.S. Sulaco.

Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Hicks began to whoop and cheer "Hell, Yeah!". Beside him, Bishop waited patiently for the Corporal to finish his celebration. Once the Marine had calmed down, the Android began to speak "I shall begin docking procedures, immediately." But Hicks spoke to the Synthetic in a serious tone "No way, Bishop. We are not boarding the Sulaco, just yet. I want you to do as I ordered before, and bring the dropship back down onto the planet's surface. We are not leaving Ripley and Newt down there with the Aliens and the Jaegers, for even a split second longer."

Bishop quietly nods and buckles himself into the pilot's seat. Behind him, Hicks does the same in the copilot's. A long while passes by, and both of the dropship's occupants hear an electronic chime ring out. "Global Mapping Data download, complete. We now have Global Positioning capabilities." The Android announced. "Track Ripley's homing signal. Bring us straight to her." Ordered the Corporal. The Synthetic nods again, and began pressing a few buttons and switches on his pilot controls.

"Confirmed. We're locked on the signal. Triangulating coordinates, now." A digital map appears on Bishop's flight HUD, and began showing a detailed image of the land surrounding a dot representing the Probe's position. Shortly afterwards, another dot appears on the map, a considerable amount of miles south of the probes position "She's far down south of where we set the Probe and encountered the Jaegers."

Hicks breathed a sigh of relief. From what Bishop was saying, it seems Ripley and Newt are nowhere near Esdeath and the Jaegers. "And you're certain, you heard Ripley say she spotted the Aliens heading north?" the Corporal asked. Bishop answers "Positive. According to the map's geography, there's a vast mountain range separating Ripley's position from the majority of the continent." The Marine smiled with grim satisfaction "Perfect. The Aliens are the Jaegers' problem, now."

The dropship's engines spun to life, as it makes ready for atmospheric re-entry. Bishop throttles the engines and the Ship's thrusters propelled it forward, into the planet's gravity well. As the dropship falls through the Empire's upper atmosphere Bishop began making course adjustments to lead the Ship towards Ripley's position. Behind him, Hicks calmly sits back in the copilot seat and closed his eyes to catch up on sleep. "Hang on, Ripley and Newt. We're coming for you, both" He whispered "And, I'm sorry. We won't be going home, yet. We still have a fight to finish."

 **The Empire's Southernmost Outpost, North of Hadley's Hope**

The Jaegers gathered behind their commander, who was busy "debriefing" one of the Imperial Soldiers who greeted them upon their arrival to the Southern Outpost. General Esdeath was not pleased with what the Imperial Soldier was telling her, so she asks to confirm "And you're certain, it was Nouken who gave the order to march on south towards the Valley?"

The Imperial Soldier was on his knees in a prostrate position, with Esdeath's heel digging into the back of his head and grinding his face into the dirt on the ground. In front of her, about a hundred Imperial Soldiers stood at attention solemnly ignoring the blue haired woman's apparent abuse of their comrade. The prostrate Soldier spoke "Yes, Ma'am! The Reconnaissance Group set up camp at the base of the toppled mountain. They were tasked with finding a suitable passage for our armies to march through, and determine if there were any hostiles present. We lost contact with them yesterday, so General Nouken made the call and led the Expeditionary Force towards the Reconnaissance Group's last known position. They were going to investigate the whereabouts of the Reconnaissance Group, then continue marching into the Valley where the Mysterious Explosion took place. He left a skeleton crew of a hundred of us here, to man the Outpost and await your arrival."

Esdeath frowned "What do you mean by, hostiles?" The soldier looks up in response, and nearly sees up the skirt of the Jaeger leader's uniform. But the high heel of Esdeath's boot presses down into one of the soldier's eyes, forcing him to shut it "Ow, Ouch! Okay! After the Explosion happened, a stampede of wild Danger Beasts swarmed out of the Valley and wreaked havoc across the land. Our forces put down most of them, but at least three Danger Beasts eluded us and are believed to still prowl the area." He reaches into his uniform and produced several sheets of paper containing the Danger Beasts' written information "We've gathered some reward posters matching the Danger Beasts' descriptions."

With a painful kick Esdeath stepped her foot off the Soldier's head, who gets up and quickly falls in with the rank and file lineup of his fellow comrades. The Jaegers' leader looked up at the morning Sun in thought. "If Nouken reached the Reconnaissance Group's camp at sundown, he would have to halt the marching progress of the Expeditionary Force and hunker down to wait out the night." She surmised, hoping the other General wasn't foolish enough to attempt to march ahead into the dark of night. Run stepped forward from behind her and picked up the reward posters from off the ground. He began reading them, with a look of concern "Blitz Hound, Grey Ape, and Raging Bull. These are Super-Class Danger Beasts, every single own of them."

Esdeath turned to look at her Aide "Danger Beasts like those, aren't the kind to just turn tail and run. They tend to stand their ground and fight viciously, to defend their territory." A smirk forms across her face "And a single one can take on a whole army effortlessly." Run nods in agreement. He turns to the soldier from before "Are you're sure, none of them have been spotted leaving the area?" the soldier nods his head "The last known sighting was reported two days ago, by the Reconnaissance Group. Right before they disappeared. We've had trackers scouring the outer perimeter, ever since. No one has found neither sign nor trail of any one of those Danger Beasts."

Wave joins the conversation, and speaks "So that means, they're still in the area. Or maybe they went the opposite direction? Heading south, towards the Valley?" Run shrugs and says "Perhaps."

Bols raises his hand "What do they look like?" Run holds out the papers, for the masked Jaeger to see. He skims over them and nods. The General's Aide then offers the papers to Wave, who accepts them gratefully. The young man looks over each sheet of paper, thoroughly memorizing every detail of each Danger Beasts' description. The Blitz Hound was large, about as big as a horse, and has jet black fur. The Grey Ape was large as well, measuring about 9 feet in height, has massive arms and its fur is colored a silvery grey. The Raging Bull resembled a regular bull, but was three times as large, had short red hair over rippling muscles and sharp bull horns.

Wave offers the papers to Kurome, who was idly munching on sweets from her bag. The teenage assassin looked at Wave and yanked her bag tightly closer to her chest. "You can't have any" she muttered. The young man makes a hurt expression. Beside him, Seryu reached out and plucked the papers from his hand. The auburn haired murderess scrolls through each sheet, with a malicious grin "Look, Koro! Evil comes in many shapes and sizes. We'll show them how Justice deals with such vicious demons!". The biological Imperial Arm climbs up Seryu's shoulder and looks at the Danger Beasts' descriptions. It makes a similar malicious grin.

Esdeath calls out to get the Jaegers' attention "Alright, mount up! We're leaving, to catch up with the Expeditionary Force!" her subordinates began to walk back to their horses. Suddenly, the soldier form before called out "Just a moment, General!"

Esdeath turns to the soldier with a questioning glare. The soldier explains "While we were hunting for the remaining Danger Beasts, we came upon one that was injured. We've decided to capture it and nurse it back to health, instead. It appears quite tame, and would certainly be of use on your journey." The Imperial Soldier whistles out loud, and his comrades beside him began to part. From behind the soldiers, the Outpost's Stable Master stepped forward with a very large Danger Beast following him by the reigns.

The Jaegers stepped back and looked at the Danger Beast. It was big, roughly the size of a small house. It stood on two legs supported by strong bird talons, before sitting back on its haunches. In place of its arms, it has broad leathery wings folded along its body. Its head is crested by two back swept horns and a bird beak for a mouth. The Danger Beast looked down at the Jaegers, and blinks it eyes at them. It then snorts with indifference, and begins to busy itself with grooming its wings. Its lizard tail idly whipping side to side

"That's a Bird Wyvern! You don't see too much of them flying around the Empire, at this time of the year. They're a migratory species." Explains Run with admiration. Wave eyes the Bird Wyvern with interest "Must have been flying south when that Explosion happened. Knocked it right out of the air and grounded it."

"It's about a day's walk to the Reconnaissance Group's camp. Half a day on horseback. But, a flying Danger Beast can get you there in a matter of minutes." Explains the Stable Master, and he promptly hands the reigns to Esdeath. The General tugs on the reigns, and the Bird Wyvern obediently lowers its body to allow passengers to board.

"Everyone, climb aboard! We've wasted enough time!" ordered Esdeath. Bols was the first to clamber up atop the Bird Wyvern. He reaches down, and Wave and Run began handing travel packs up to him. While the masked Jaeger was busy stowing the packs, the other Jaegers began to board. Seryu was next to climb on top of the flying Danger Beast, with Koro barely clinging to her back. Run climbs on, after seeing Bols secure the last pack. Wave climbs up and turns around to offer Kurome his hand. Akame's younger sister throws him an annoyed look and climbs up, ignoring the seaman's helpful gesture. Esdeath was the last person to board, climbing up the Danger Beast's shoulder and tugging the reigns again to make it take flight.

The Bird Wyvern makes a graceful leap into the air and flaps its powerful wings to climb up into the sky, leveling off as it soars high over the Outpost. And with Esdeath's guidance, turns and flies south.

 **Expeditionary Force Reconnaissance Group's Camp, North of Hadley's Hope**

15 minutes after departing the Southern Outpost, the Bird Wyvern carrying the Jaegers reaches the Reconnaissance Group's camp and begins descending towards the center of the campsite. It touches down and the Jaegers disembarked.

Esdeath tethered the flying Danger Beast to a single standing pole, and surveyed her surroundings with a recognized expression. The base camp of the Reconnaissance Group, has been utterly destroyed. Everywhere she looked, there were signs of battle. Broken swords and spears littered the ground. Empty rifles lay cast aside, their spent cartridge casings scattered everywhere. "It seems the Rifle Battalion who use these guns, have used up every single bullet they carried." The Jaegers' leader thought "And it didn't look like it made any difference." Puddles of blood pooled over every inch of the grounds, dyeing the campsite with crimson.

"What in the name of Justice, happened here!?" exclaimed Seryu, eyeing the devastation around her in shock.

"Looks like there was a battle here." Bols commented. Wave argued "You call this, a battle!? Looks more like a massacre to me! I've never seen so much blood!" he tries to compose himself, after seeing the carnage laid out before him.

Esdeath turns to her subordinates "Who can tell me, what's wrong with this scenery?" Everyone fidgeted, but Wave speaks first "You mean, besides the telltale slaughter?"

"You need bodies, for it to be a slaughter." Corrected Kurome. She scans the whole area twice over "And, I don't see any bodies." Run looks around onece more, and agrees "She's right. All the bodies are missing. If a battle has happened here, there should be dead and wounded from both the Expeditionary Force and whoever attacked them."

"Or, whatever attacked them." Added Esdeath. She walks in a circle, taking in the visual of the campsite in more detail. Only a handful of tents remain standing, and all of them had their side canvas torn to shreds by something hideously sharp. The General picks up a piece of canvas and analyze its damage "A wide slash mark. Made by a sword or spear? No. There are four cuts, running parallel to each other in perfect symmetry. A claw or a weapon resembling one, did this." She looks at the ground and notices a set of tracks that are barely visible, underneath the puddles of blood. "The tracks don't resemble any form of boot print or any other type of footprint, for that matter. Not a human one, anyway." The Jaegers' leader makes a closer observation "The prints are wide, with several indentations at the front. Indicating, either talons or a clawed foot." She spots several claw marks that resemble the one left on the tent canvas, accompanying the tracks at every few feet lengths.

Esdeath comes to a conclusion "Some type of animal did all this. One with considerable size and strength, maybe even a Danger Beast." Run makes a similar observation with the available evidence "Seems to be the case. I see no other sets of footprints, except for those of the creature and those belonging to Imperial Soldiers."

"Could it have been one of the Danger Beasts that we were informed about from the Southern Outpost?" asks Wave.

"Not likely." Run answers "None of the tracks I'm finding here, fit the profile. And their actions don't add up. Not one of the Danger Beasts can be a threat to the Expeditionary Force numbering 1,300 men, by itself. It would require all three Danger Beasts working together, to be able to wipe out such a large army."

Esdeath nods "This creature certainly wasn't working alone. I count multiple sets of tracks. Too much to count, anyway." She looks down at her thigh length boots, and notices a mysterious substance has stuck to the bottom. The slime seemed translucent, but would produce a greenish hue when light strikes it at an angle. The General frowns in disgust and conjures ice along the soles of her boots. The slime freezes instantly and breaks off, leaving the boots clean. She looks again at the creatures tracks and realized more of the unknown slime is trailed behind the track prints "Run. What do you make of this substance?" her Aide walks over and looks down at the slime "Some type of secretion, most likely." He lowers himself closer and picks at it, with a stick he found "Whatever it is, it makes for quite an adhesive. Doesn't seem to come off, by merely scrapping or rubbing at it. Might have to burn it off. Or freeze it off."

Kurome was standing some distance away from the group and called out "You guys! Come see this!" The Jaegers all gathered around a smoking hole that the teenage assassin discovered. The hole was only a few inches wide, but a plume of smoke rose from it as if it was burning. Beside it, lay a broken longsword with its blade melted down to a mere stub above the hilt guard.

"Never seen a sword, melted like that. And it couldn't be done by flame, otherwise we'd be seeing black scorch marks" surmised Bols. Beside him, Seryu bends over and picks up the damaged sword. She holds it above her head in an attempt to use the light of the sun to better examine it. A small drop of yellowish fluid began to form at the tip of the melted blade. "What is that?" she wondered, as the fluid threatened to drip off the sword and onto her face.

Suddenly, Seryu was yanked backwards by the collar of her uniform and she drops the sword back onto the ground. The drop of yellow fluid spattered on the ground and burns a new hole in the dirt, with a violent sizzling noise. The auburn haired murderess looks behind her, to see Esdeath was the one who pulled her back. She turns back around and sees the broken sword atop a newly formed hole, made by the yellow fluid.

"It's that liquid! The yellow liquid is what made those holes, and destroyed that sword. It's as if, it can dissolve any solid material. Even metal!" exclaimed Wave.

"What kind of liquid can do that?" asked Seryu, who stood back up and backed away from the melted sword. Behind her, Koro growled threateningly at the burning holes.

"Acid." Answered Kurome "Only acid can accomplish that. But I've never seen acid as potent at low quantities as that. Could be something to do with that creature, you mentioned." She turns to Esdeath, who concurs "This Danger Beast, certainly seems very lethal. I can't wait to see what it looks like."

The General looks at all her subordinates "Alright, spread out! Look for any more clues or leads, telling us what happened here or where everybody went." All of the Jaegers began to comb through the camp in different directions. Bols went south, Wave went north, Kurome went west, and Seryu went east. Run activates Mastema and flies up get a bird's eye view of the camp. Only Esdeath remained where she was, at the center of the campsite going over their recent findings.

Seryu walk towards the trees, on the outskirts of the campsite. She looks down and notices a set of footprints in the dirt. Human footprints, in the shape of boots. "Koro! Number 9!" she calls to her Imperial Arm. Koro enlarges his head and clamps his jaws onto the Jaeger's right arm. He spits, and an arm with a radar scope attached came out.

Seryu looks down at the Justice City Detector and sees a single dot reading blip steadily, a few yards from her location "Koro! Stay close! I got something here." The auburn haired murderess began following the radar scope signal with her Imperial Arm trotting behind, as they stepped into the thick forest beyond the camp grounds' boundary. After a few yards of walking, they both come upon a large tree with a hollow at the base of its roots. Seryu studies her radar and confirmed, this is the signal's point of origin. She kneels down close to the tree's hollow, and can hear the faint painful groaning of something inside.

"Koro! Arms! Remove this tree." Seryu ordered, and her Imperial Arm expanded his body and grew out enormous arms. Koro then grabbed the tree by its trunk and effortlessly tore it from the ground, roots and all. He hurls the tree into the distance, and reverts to small size to join Seryu in finding what was hidden underneath the tree. It was an unconscious Imperial Soldier in a tattered captain's uniform. The Soldier was lying on his side, and his breathing was shallow. He seemed barely alive.

Seryu stood up and gazed over towards the campsite "Koro. Stand guard here, and watch him. I'll go get the others." Koro makes an apprehensive whine, but obediently stood near the unconscious soldier. Seryu makes a dash towards the camp grounds to gather the other Jaegers to come see what she found.

Several minutes later, the Jaegers gathered around the Imperial Soldier that Seryu found. "I found his foot prints at the edge of camp, and used Justice City Detector to pinpoint his whereabouts. Me and Koro found him soon after, inside the hollow of a large tree." She explained. Beside her, Run surveys the dense forest surrounding them "He must have ran off into the forest, and crawled inside the tree hollow to escape the battle at the campsite." Esdeath scowled with disappointment "Such cowardice. To think a ranking officer and a Captain no less, has abandoned his men in the heat of battle. Only to curl up inside a hole, like a frightened little animal."

Bols knelt down and turned the soldier over on his back. He stood up and joined his fellow Jaegers in surprise. The Imperial Captain was covered in blood and serious wounds. His left shoulder was missing a standard armor piece. Instead, the shoulder was bare and the exposed skin is warped with fresh scars. As if the skin was chemically burned by some corrosive liquid. The same was for his left hand, only three fingers in the middle remained. The rest of the hand was dissolved away. On his right hand, he still holds a sword similar to the one found back at camp with its blade similarly melted to half length. The worst of the soldier's wounds was a large bloody cut, across his midsection. It's as if something tried to rend the soldier in half, but failed to cut deep enough. Blood was steadily oozing out of the wound. The soldier will eventually bleed to death, if he doesn't get medical treatment soon.

"What the Hell, happened to him!? What kind of animal could be capable of leaving such grisly wounds on a man!?" exclaimed Wave in morbid astonishment. Suddenly, the Imperial Captain opened his eyes and jerked awake. He jumps to his feet, and began screaming and slashing wildly with his damaged sword "Get back! Stay away! I'll never let you monsters take me alive!"

Everyone jumped back to avoid the soldier's frantic attack, and drew their weapons. But, they let up when they saw that the Imperial Captain stood in place, his sword swings getting weaker and unwieldy. Bad idea. His sudden erratic movements tore open his wounds, and now blood was spilling profusely. He was going to bleed out in a matter of seconds.

Without wasting a second, Esdeath rushed at the soldier and delivered a hard slap across his face. The Imperial Captain fell back on the ground disoriented. He first noticed the large bleeding cut on his abdomen was encased in ice, stopping his blood from flowing out. The soldier makes ready to scream again, but Esdeath stopped him by kneeling and covering his mouth with her hand.

"Get a hold of yourself, Captain! What has happened here? Where is your platoon?" Esdeath demanded, but the soldier started babbling nonsense in response "I'm sorry. I knew it was wrong. But I did it anyway. No one complained, because no one cared. It should've been me, and not you. It should've been Me and not You!"

Esdeath conjured a dagger made of ice, and stabbed the Imperial Captain on his wounded shoulder. The soldier cried out in pain, but Esdeath held the dagger in place twisting it slowly deeper into the wound "I want answers, Captain! And if I don't get them, I'll add more wounds to that impressive collection you got all over your body."

Whimpering, the soldier began to gather his senses. He looks at the person in front of him, then to the others encircled around "General Esdeath? Is that you?" Esdeath quietly nods "The Jaegers are here to assist in investigating the Valley of the Mysterious Explosion." She grips her ice dagger threateningly "Where is General Nouken? What happened to the Expeditionary Force?"

The Imperial Captain began to shudder "They were taken. The shadow of the forest, it just came alive and took them." Esdeath twisted the dagger again, and the soldier howled in pain. "Not good enough! Start making sense! Who took them!?" the Jaegers' leader roared. The soldier kept babbling "The Dark. The Darkness that dwells inside us all. We've let it rise from our hearts and consume this land, and now it wants Us. Nouken and his men were the first to be taken. Then the shadows crawled out of the forest, screeching and hissing like…like Serpents. We got into formation, and made a defensive circle. But night had fallen already and we couldn't see. What little torches we had, offered barely enough light to see each other being attacked." He started to sob "They're our Sins. The Light of this world has forsaken us. Now our Sins have come in the night to steal us away. And drag us to the Abyss for our eternal damnation." He glimpses at his partially dissolved hand "You can't fight your Sins. Anyone who strikes at them, and the hand that hits them is reduced to burnt char. They killed anyone who fought too hard. Those who were injured or were careless, got pulled into the shadows. Any man who held a rifle, fired to the last bullet. About half of us remained, when the last rifle clicked empty. And then the Crawling Darkness charged into our ranks, killing and abducting our men by the hundreds. Only when a handful of us were left standing, did we try to escape. We ran into the forest trees, while the Serpents were busy with the rest of our comrades. One of them came after me, it swiped at me with its tail, then I fell down and stumbled into the hollow of a tree. I was trapped and the Serpent tried to get at me, but couldn't fit. I stabbed at it with my sword and my body started to burn. I blacked out and can't remember anything afterwards."

Esdeath heard enough. She pulls the ice dagger out of the Imperial Captain's shoulder and stood up. The soldier slumped back on the ground, his raspy breathing reduced to small wheezes. All of the Jaegers stood there, trying to process the soldier's recapping of last night's hellish battle. Wave spoke up first "Serpents? The Crawling Darkness? Any idea what the hell any of that means, anyone?" Seryu looks at him "Well, isn't it obvious? Evil has overtaken this land, and only Justice can eradicate it!"

Chuckling can be heard, and everyone turned to look down at the wounded soldier. He was laughing hysterically "You think you can stop the coming Darkness!? It's inside each and every one of us! You can't stop it! No one can stop them!" Seryu was not convinced "I'm an Ally of Justice! There is no Darkness inside Me!" the Imperial Captain ignored her and rambled on "You still don't get it, don't you!? We are already dead! We're just waiting for them to come back and take us in the night!"

The Soldier sat up and looks down at his partially frozen wound "I won't let them take me. I'm leaving this world, on my own terms!" with all his might, he brings down his damaged sword and slams the hilt of the blade onto the ice. The sword bounces off the thick ice and the soldier had the wind knocked out off him. He looks at his weapon and sees the half melted blade still laced with droplets of yellow liquid. He turns the sword around and brings the damaged blade down on the ice. In a low sizzle, the ice breaks apart and blood gushes out of the wound once again. At this point, nobody can help him. The blood loss is too much. As he lays back on the ground with his consciousness fading, he slowly repeats what he said earlier "The Darkness inside us has risen from our hearts to stalk this land...and now It wants us…It can't be stopped." With a low sigh, the Imperial Soldier exhaled his last breath and passed away.

A minute went by and none of the Jaegers said anything. Most of them were too shocked by the soldier's death. Kurome stood the closest to the body, and heard the soldier's last words most clearly. She dismissed his words as a frightened coward's ravings, and started eating from her bag of sweets. Bols fidgeted, unsure of what to do. Wave only stared at the body, wondering what kind of traumatic experience pushed the soldier past his breaking point. Seryu checked her Justice City Detector, and saw no other life signs on her radar scope. Beside her, Koro began sniffing the body, looks up and whines. The auburn haired Jaeger shakes her head and indicates the body be left alone. Run was calmly assessing the soldier's story "Whatever this Danger Beast is, it's clearly powerful. And there's obviously more than one of them." He looks at General Esdeath "It's a safe assumption, that the Expeditionary Force has been wiped out."

Esdeath calls out "Anybody else, find anything?" Kurome puts away her bag of sweets and raises her hand "I found a trail of blood, plus more tracks belonging to the creature. They both lead towards West, deep into the forest." Bols also raises his hand "There's a clear path through the mountain, that leads towards the Valley. It seems to have been cleared by the Reconnaissance Group, before they disappeared." Wave looks up at Esdeath "So, what's the call Commander? If the Soldiers of the Expeditionary Force have been taken by the creatures, we should follow them and rescue any survivors."

Esdeath frowns and shakes her head "Those men were weak. They deserve to perish at the hands of the creatures who defeated them." She then grins menacingly "But I sure wouldn't mind, meeting these Danger Beasts. Their strength might prove entertaining." She mused, excited about meeting some worthy foes. The General gathers her subordinates' attention "The Valley can wait. We're following the Danger Beast's trail, so be ready for battle. Kurome, lead the way." The teenage assassin nods and begins walking towards West "Seryu. Stay close behind her and keep that radar scope handy" The auburn haired murderess salutes "Yes ma'am! Onwards, Kurome! We'll soon dispense Justice on those foolish Danger Beast, and avenge our fallen comrades of the Expeditionary Force!"

Run walks up to Esdeath "Are you sure about this, Commander? We'll be facing these creatures on their own turf. And for all we know, they might be waiting to ambush us." The General shakes her head "Not likely. According to that soldier's testimony, these creatures attacked when it got dark." She gazes up at the morning sun "I'd say, we have the advantage since we're moving in daylight. And it seems, they mostly come at night. Mostly." For some reason she doubted her last sentence in the back of her head, but shrugged it off. "Any animal that's nocturnal, should only be active at night. Right?" She reasoned.

They return to the campsite and Kurome continued leading the Jaegers to her western search zone. They stopped at the forest boundary and Esdeath steps to the front to examine the trail. The trail comprised of blood, creature tracks, and globs of slime heading in the same direction. The General turns to Seryu, who looks down at her Justice City Detector and shakes her head. There's no sign of anything ahead of them in the forest.

The Jaegers walk into the Forest, with Esdeath at the front. Seryu walked behind her and frequently looked down at her radar scope. Koro clung to and rode on Seryu's shoulder. Next was Kurome, walking along and idly slipping sweets from her bag and into her mouth. Run and Wave followed, constantly watching their surroundings and noticing the path was getting broader but the trees were getting denser. So was the mysterious slime, it was getting thicker and more widespread. Bols brought up the rear of the group, slowly sweeping Rubicante side by side ready to burn anything that moved.

Esdeath suddenly came to a stop and her subordinates did the same. Everyone tightly spread out to see what's ahead and began to stare. In front of them, the trees were no longer visible and the mysterious slime covered everything. Further down the path, the slime was concentrated and solid. Transforming the open forest trail into a dark tunnel. Along the sides, the resinous mucous enveloped the trees to form nearly translucent walls in which daylight can barely penetrate. Any light that managed to reach through, gave the interior a greenish glow.

"Hey. Since when did this place stopped being a forest and became some sort of complex structure?" demanded Wave, taking notice of the absence of the forest's trees. The trees are replaced by the hardened contours of dried mucous, forming a pattern along the walls resembling some sort of organ or bone. "This place looks like some sort of biological construction." Explained Run "More like a Hive, instead." He realized.

"What is all that stuff? And why is the forest covered in it?" asked Wave. Run walks up to the material and lightly brushes his finger against it "It looks like more of that secreted resin, from before." He raps his knuckles against it "It's denser now. And, it's incredibly hard."

"Yeah." Agreed Wave "But, secreted from what?" he reaches out to touch the material, but Bols gently grabbed his wrist and pulls him back "Nobody touch nothing." Esdeath turns to them and says "Bols is right. This is undoubtedly the creature's lair, and we don't know that stuff is or what it can do"

Beside Esdeath, Seryu looks again at her Justice City Detector and notices a small signal blip appeared on the scope. "Ma'am! I think I got something here!" The General turns to her subordinate and responds "Where is it?" the auburn haired Jaeger looks back at her scope "It's down the tunnel. A few yards ahead of us." Suddenly the signal disappears. "It's gone!" she exclaims.

Kurome turns to her with an annoyed look "What do you mean it's gone? Is that thing, even working right?" Seryu was insulted "How dare you! The Justice City Detector is the ultimate device for locating Evil. It uses thermal sensors and motion detection to zero in on a target. Nothing in this World can elude it!"

Esdeath drew her rapier and stepped towards the tunnel "We'll find out what it is, soon enough. Ready your Imperial Arms! We're going forward." Seryu holds out her left arm "Koro! Number 3!" Koro enlarges his head and clamps his large mouth on the arm. He then spits it back out and a large blade comes out. With her left arm equipped with the Sung Dynasty Blade, Seryu holds up the Justice City Detector attached to her right arm at the ready. Kurome draws Yatsufusa from its sheath and stands by. Run activates Mastema and sprouts wings. He folds the wings to save space in the group. Beside him, Wave stabs Grand Chariot into the ground and summons its black armor onto himself. At the rear, Bols resumes his ready stance and once again brandishes Rubicante. Together with weapons drawn, the Jaegers proceed into the Hive.

They slowly walked down the path of the tunnel of slime. The corridor was narrow, and visibility was dim. At several intervals, pockets of sunlight would pierce the green gloom of the corridor and properly illuminate the area. The Jaegers came upon one such light source, and it gave enough light for them to notice something new. Off to the side, hanging several feet above the ground and completely encased in the resinous slime, was the body of an Imperial Soldier. On his chest was a large gaping hole.

"Holy Shit! What the Hell, did they do to him!?" Wave cried out from inside his armor's helmet. Him and his fellow Jaegers observed the soldier's body, and concluded he was dead. "That wound on his chest, seems to be the cause of death." explained Run. Esdeath steps close to the body and jabs at the wound with her rapier "His sternum has been broken through. Ribs on the side are bent outwards, indicating an exit wound. The heart and lungs remain intact. No entry wound from the back, either." She lowers her rapier "Something came out of this soldier's chest. Ripped its way, right out of his ribcage." The Jaegers' leader concluded.

"Look at his face!" exclaimed Seryu. Everyone looked up at the dead soldier's face. It was twisted and contorted with an expression of boundless agony. Wave and Seryu turned away in disgust. Kurome stood idly by, still slipping sweets into her mouth. Run and Bols stared up silently. Only Esdeath eyed the soldier's face with astonishment "Amazing!" she whispered, wondering what these creature did to make a man don such a painful look.

Esdeath slowly looks around, as her eyes begin to adjust to the corridor's dim lighting. Her subordinates did the same and they all looked in shock at the walls around them. Covered in slime and almost completely lining the walls as far as the eye can see, were the bodies of the Soldiers of the Expeditionary Force. And every single one of them bore the same gaping wound on their chests, and the same tormented face of supreme agony. The General smiled inwardly. She wanted to see this Danger Beast, now more than ever. "Let's keep moving." She ordered

The Jaegers were jolted out of their stupor and began following their leader deeper into the tunnel. As they made their way forward, the bodies of Imperial Soldiers became more numerous. "Did this happen to every Soldier of the Expeditionary Force? Didn't these Monsters leave anyone alive?" asked Seryu, no one bothered to give her an answer. "This tunnel is quite long. I wonder how big this Hive is. And it's quiet too." She continued, and Wave realized something and responded "Where the Hell are these creatures? We should've seen one by now." Esdeath paused and focused her senses around her. If these creatures are near enough, she should be able to sense their Killing Intent. So far nothing caught her notice. The General turns to her auburn haired subordinate, who looks down at the Justice City Detector and shakes her head. Whatever is in here, it's not moving or readying an attack.

They entered a vast chamber, more spacious than the tunnel they were walking from and it is strangely dome-like and cavernous. All traces of the forest outside is gone, and the xenomorphic walls seem even more organic and bone-like. Daylight filtered through in small glimmers from small alcoves high up along the chamber's ceiling, providing visibility within. At the other end of the chamber, were three separate tunnels leading right, left, and center.

The Jaegers came up to the three tunnels, and all gazes fell on Esdeath. She observes each tunnel. The one on the right was dimly lit, and it was also the only tunnel lined with more bodies of dead Imperial Soldiers. The left tunnel was the brightest, probably leads to another opening where daylight poured in. The center tunnel was darkest, its interior was barely visible. "We're splitting up. We'll cover more ground that way. Run, you got the right tunnel. If there are survivors, they'll most likely be down that way. Look for anyone still alive, and lead them back here. Bols, go with him and cover his back. Kurome, you and Wave take the left tunnel. Check and see if there is another way out through there. Seryu, you're with me. We're going down the center, where we'll most likely encounter the creatures. So keep your voice down, and we might get the drop on them."

Seryu quietly nods, buts makes an insidious grin "Soon, Koro. We'll find you plenty of snacks to feast on." Koro also makes a grin full of razor sharp teeth.

Run starts walking down the right tunnel, his wings folded over his front to form a shield. Bols trailed behind, carefully aiming Rubicante so as not to burn Run. Kurome quietly trots down the left tunnel, with Wave following close behind and eyeing the walls suspiciously. The black armor clad Jaeger couldn't understand why, but somehow for some reason the walls seem to be hiding more than just forest shrubbery and dead bodies. And he began to feel they were surrounded by danger. He takes one more glimpse at Esdeath. His commander just stood there, facing the center tunnel with relative calm. Now he felt somewhat reassured, he's with the best fighters in all the Empire, and none of them can be easily defeated. "We've Got This" he declared, as he steadily marched to catch up with his teenage teammate.

Esdeath waited at the front of the center tunnel for a minute, just to make sure her subordinates didn't encounter any trouble within their respective tunnels. She beckons for Seryu and Koro to follow close behind her as they make their way forward.

Run and Bols were the first to reach their tunnel's outlet, and they stepped into another large cavernous chamber. The first thing they notice, were the rows upon rows of bodies of Imperial Soldiers of the Expeditionary Force lining every square inch of the chamber walls. Their bodies were twisted and broken by the creatures, to conserve spacing.

"This must be their central storage, of the victims they've captured" surmised Run, eyeing his surroundings In morbid fascination. He tried making a head count, and estimated almost all 1,400 missing soldiers are probably in here. He shifted his attention to the floor and notice several hundreds of leathery pods sat in rows throughout the chamber. Most were opened at the top, resembling oval four-petal plants in bloom. While the other few remained closed up, their outer membranes slowly pulsating.

"What are those?" wondered Bols. Beside him, Run steps forward and approach one of the open pods. He peers inside and all he sees are a few fleshy components of an unknown purpose. Nothing was moving inside the mysterious pod, it seemed empty. Run steps back, and his foot brushes against something on the floor. He looks down and sees a strange object. It looked like a severed hand with too many fingers attached, and a long tail trailing out its back end. The hand-like thing laid upturned with its fingers partially curled shut. In its center was a slick tubular shaft, protruding from a flabby sheath. "What have we here?" the General's Aide wondered as he bent down to examine the creature. He nudges it with his foot and the creature's fingers twitched

Bols steadily aims Rubicante "Careful, Run!" but his teammate raises his arms to calm him down. "It's okay Bols. I think that was a reflex." Run looks back down and the hand resembling organism refused to move anymore. It was dead. Both Jaegers look around and notice several more dead hand-like creatures lay scattered about the chamber.

Bols walks up to Run and asks "What exactly are these things?" The General's Aide shrugs "Not sure. We'll find out later. Right now, help me look for survivors." He spreads his wings and flies up to the top of the chamber "I'll start at the top. You check the bottom. Sound off if you find something." The masked Jaeger nods his head and begins looking over the mucous covered soldiers, in search of anyone still alive or at least any who didn't have a bloody hole in their chest.

"Kurome, wait up!" Wave called out to the teenage assassin, as he picked up the pace to catch up to her. He sees her standing near the tunnel's outlet, looking at something out of his line of sight. Daylight shone brightly across Kurome's petite figure, illuminating her face as well. She looked both shocked and amazed at something.

Wave finally catches up with her "What's wrong? Did you find a way out?" the black armor clad Jaeger turned to look out the tunnel's outlet and instantly threw himself in front of Kurome, and assumed a battle stance. At the end of the tunnel, was another path that lead outside the Hive and back into the forest. And facing the tunnel's outlet was the snarling face of the Danger Beast, Blitz Hound.

Wave made ready to punch at the Blitz Hound's face, but Kurome jumped in front of him with her arms outstretched. "Wait! Don't waste your energy." She turns around and lightly jabs Yatsufusa's blade at the Danger Beast's right eye. It made no attempt to shut its poked eye. In fact, it didn't move at all. It didn't even growl or breathe either.

"It's dead." Concluded Kurome, and Wave calmly stood at ease. They both stared at the Blitz Hound, and walked around to observe the Danger Beast. Its face was frozen in a snarled expression, seemingly in pain. Its large body was partially covered in more of that mysterious slime. And finally on the side of where its ribcage is, was a large gaping hole, similar to the holes found back inside the Hive on the chests of the dead Expeditionary Force Imperial Soldiers.

"Something burst its way out of this Danger Beast's ribcage. Something Big." Wave realized, and Kurome agrees "Just like the soldiers, we found back inside the Hive." The teenage assassin looks at her surroundings and points "Wave, look over there!".

Wave turned and looked to where his teammate pointed, and saw the body of another Danger Beast, Grey Ape. It was also encased in mucous and had its own recognizable gaping hole sticking out of its chest. Before the Jaeger can react, he spots another Danger Beast, Raging Bull, off to the side. It was the covered by the same material, and has the same type of wound. All three Super-Class Danger Beasts have suffered the same fate as the Expeditionary Force Soldiers.

"Impossible. What kind of Monster, can do this to all three Danger Beasts?" asked an astonished Wave. Kurome looks at him, and shrugs. She was just as confounded as her partner was.

Esdeath, Seryu , and Koro walked down the center tunnel quietly. The tunnel was particularly long and still dark, but thanks to Seryu's Justice City Detector they had no trouble in making out their position. "It shouldn't be any further, Ma'am. I tracking an opening, a few yards ahead of us." The amber eyed Jaeger tells the General.

Esdeath stops walking and raises her left arm to signal her subordinate to stop as well. The two of them stood there in the long winding corridor of the Hive. Koro trots up to Seryu's legs and whines, but the Jaeger puts a metal finger to her lips and shushes him. "Wave was right. We should have seen one of these creatures by now." Admitted the Jaegers' leader.

"I assure you Ma'am, the Justice City Detector is working fine. Dr. Stylish was very confident in his innovations for Justice." Seryu insisted. But Esdeath shakes her head "I have no doubts in Dr. Stylish technical prowess. Nor do I doubt your ability to utilize his equipment, Seryu. But I think the problem lies in what we face, in here. So far, neither of our usual tracking methods have been effective." The auburn haired Jaeger frowns, but concedes to her commander's opinion "So, what do you propose we do?"

Esdeath gazes down the path ahead of them. She can see a blue shade of ambient light in the distance, in contrast to the ambient green of the corridor she and her subordinate are currently standing in. Although she senses no Killing Intent right now, she can't help but get the feeling that she's been walking into the clutches of something terrible. "We're taking the slow approach, this time. Let's wait it out, right here. At least, until there's a change of some kind. We've made the first move, by coming here. Now, it's their turn to take action. And when they do, we'll be watching and waiting.

Seryu nods and stands by the wall next to her, calmly gazing at her Justice City Detector. Koro climbs up her back and perches on top of her right shoulder to look at the radar scope also. In front of them, Esdeath takes another look in the direction of the unknown destination of the tunnel's pathway. There's something there, she can feel it. She eagerly wanted to see this mysterious entity, but her instincts are telling her she's being set up. The General was already becoming bored of traps and ambushes. "Not like any of them, can work on me" she thought. But lately, she's been itching for a stand up fight ever since she encountered that strange Corporal Hicks and his flying ship. And using some underhanded trick, the Corporal distracted her and escaped into the sky "That's something, Najenda would do" the Jaegers' leader muttered, reminiscing about her former comrade.

"What was that Ma'am?" Seryu inquired curiously. Esdeath shakes her head again "Nothing. Just thinking about that weird man Corporal Hicks whom we met, the other day" Her subordinate makes a loathsome expression "You mean, that criminal and his pathetic lackey, Bishop? They'll pay for distracting us from our mission! As if, anyone would believe their ridiculous story. Xenomorphs? Planet LV-426? The scumbag didn't even try to lie convincingly. And, who the Hell are these Colonial Marines? Sounds to me, like a insidious group of thugs and evildoers."

Esdeath quietly stood there contemplating the rest of Hicks' story "Investigate…eradicate…Xenomorph infestation." She shrugs indifferently. There wasn't enough information to understand what it all means. It's the same with their current situation. There's too many unknown factors, so she can't make out what's happening. Hence, the General's decision to temporarily relent on her search for the creatures. She wanted to understand more about them, instead of blindly confronting them. Only an amateur would act otherwise. But still, she'd rather be fighting something right now than play cat and mouse in a dark slime covered hole. The General stood with her back turned against the wall and crossed her arms impatiently. "Perhaps, these Danger Beasts just need a little motivation." She wondered, and with a sinister smirk on her face, she projects her feelings of Killing Intent in every direction.

Seryu began to shiver at the sudden drop in temperature and the sudden feeling of dread. She turns to her Commander, who was still standing with her back facing the wall, wearing her menacing grin. Both of them were unaware that behind Esdeath's back, the wall began to twitch.

Bols was unsure if they were ever going to find survivors. Not by the looks of where he's been searching. So far, all of the soldiers he looked at had the same gaping wound on their chests. He began to push deeper into the large chamber, as he continued his search. Above him, Run hovered and constantly checked the bodies of soldiers that were placed high above the floor.

"How's it look down there, Bols? Talk to me." Run called down to his teammate. The masked Jaeger looks up at him and shakes his head "Nothing, yet." The winged Jaeger nods his head "Well, keep looking. We have to make absolutely sure, no one gets left behind." Bols nods his head in agreement and resumes his search. He noticed he was getting closer to more of the mysterious pods, and this particular bunch were still closed shut.

"I have to be careful. We don't know what these pods can do." Bols said to himself. He looks back at the wall of slime encased soldiers and saw that one of them was intact. The Imperial Soldier had no wound on his chest, and doesn't seem to have his body twisted or broken. The masked Jaeger approached the soldier and leaned close to examine him. Suddenly the soldier's eyes shot open and he began to move his head to look at his surroundings.

"Run! Go get the others! I got a live one here!" Bols calls out, and the General's Aide flew down to the tunnel and back to where they came from. The masked Jaeger turns back to the soldier "You're gonna be alright. The Jaegers are here to rescue you." The Imperial Soldier either didn't hear him or didn't care. Because when the soldier spoke, the first thing he said was "Please…kill…me"

Bols stood there, wondering why the soldier was making such a request. Suddenly the Imperial Soldier seized up and screamed in agony. Somewhere close by, a wet meaty crunch can be heard. Bols instantly backed up and hoisted Rubicante at the ready. Another crunch can be heard along with a grisly tearing sound of flesh being ripped apart, and the masked Jeager realized it's coming from the Imperial Soldier. The soldier seized up again and this time, a solid bulge formed on his chest. Despite the feeling of traumatic pain, the soldier still had the strength to scream out at the top of his lungs.

"What the Hell is happening to him!?" Bols exclaimed. He held Rubicante steady, unsure of what to do. Finally, the soldier hangs his lifeless head, and his chest explodes in a spray of blood. From the fresh gaping hole, a small creature's head emerges and hisses viciously.

A shocked and thoroughly disgusted Bols aims Rubicante at the dead soldier with the Alien creature protruding from his chest, and doused them with fire. The creature squeals loudly, as the flames consumed it.

Bols stands there eyeing the area he just torched, completely lost for words. The entire spectacle of horror happened in less than a minute, but the masked Jaeger felt like an hour passed by. He turns to the other Imperial Soldiers, still cocooned along the chamber walls "That's what happened to them. They've been implanted with some sort of parasitic creature that gestated and grew inside their bodies. Then the parasite would erupt violently, after a period of time. But, how was it done? What could have done this to these men?"

Bols looks at the oval-shaped pods from earlier. They numbered in the hundreds. "One for each soldier." He realized "They're connected. Somehow, the pods were able to impregnate the immobilized victims. Impregnated. Infected." Then, it hit him. He suddenly recalled the words that man from the other day Corporal Hicks, has mentioned "Eradicate. Xenomorph infestation."

"Eradicate, Infestation." Repeated Bols, letting his instincts and training as a member of the Incineration Squad take over. He quickly aims Rubicante again, and proceed to torch the entire chamber. Flames shot forth from the Imperial Arm, scorching the bodies of Imperial Soldiers cocooned along the walls. When the fires consumed all of the soldiers, the masked Jaeger turned his flamethrower Imperial Arm onto the oval pods and began to burn them.

Only a handful of closed pods remained, when Rubicante suddenly stopped spouting out flames. Bols checks the Imperial Arm's nozzle and sees the problem. The fuel line has been cut. Before he can wonder how it happened, a great powerful force knocks him down from behind. The masked Jaeger tumbles forward and the cylindrical component to Rubicante falls off his back, clattering off to the side.

Bols recovers, stands up, and turns to see what assailed him. He froze. Standing in front of him with it's long ridged bladed tail whipping sideways, was the creature that the Jaegers have been searching for.

The fires that Bols ignited with Rubicante, burned brightly and illuminated the large chamber. This allowed the masked Jaeger to see the monster clearly. It crouched on all fours, then it stood up with a hunched posture using its bladed tail for balance. Its skin was an exoskeleton, black and insect-like, with slime dripping from all over. Four dorsal tubes protruded from its back, lined up in pairs and ran up alongside its spine towards the head. Its head was elongated, with a smooth cowl overlapping a long cranium and leading down to the front, where it face should be. But there was nothing to indicate the face. It had no nose and no eyes, but somehow it seemed to be looking straight at him. The creature's lips flared open, revealing jaws of sharp silvery teeth. And with a snarling hiss, the mouth opens to reveal a second set of jaws which flexes open and closed. With a shrill cry, it raises its clawed hands up and readies to attack.

The Alien surged forward, and pounced at Bols. The masked Jaeger barely had enough time to react and hold out Rubicante in front of him to block. It crashes into him and pins him to the floor. The Creature swipes its claws at the Jaeger and manages to knock the damaged Imperial Arm out of his hands.

Bols throws a punch onto the Monster's face, turning its head sideways. If the Alien felt any pain from being hit by the masked Jaeger, it didn't show. Instead, It turns to face the Jaeger again with its teeth bared and hissing viciously. It was pissed.

The Creature made ready to claw at him again, but Bols quickly seized the claws by the wrists to prevent the assault. The Jaeger used his impressive physique to push and shove the Monster away, but to no avail. Despite his best efforts, the Thing wouldn't budge. In fact, It was actually overpowering Bols' grip and slowly forcing its claws back towards him.

"Dammit! It's too strong!" growled Bols in surprise, as he was once again pinned against the floor. The Alien opened its mouth and its inner jaws made ready to strike. The masked Jaeger jerked his head aside, just as the secondary jaws shot out and missed him by an inch. The Alien tries adjusting its aim and shoots out its inner jaws again, but it misses once more. It brings its tail up and like a stinging scorpion, quickly brings the tail blade down and stabs into the Jaeger's right shoulder.

Bols grunts in pain as he lets go of the Creature with his right hand and tries to wrench the tail blade out of his shoulder, but it refused to come out. The Monster uses its free claw and grabs the side of Bols' face, now he couldn't move anymore. The Jaeger watches helplessly as the Creature parts its mouth again and readies another bite with its inner jaw. The secondary jaw winds back to strike, but it suddenly stops. The Alien closes its mouth and turns to "look" at something, off to the side. Bols tries doing the same, but the Creature's claw still held his head in place. It reaches for the Jaeger's mask and rips it off, exposing his face.

With his face free from the confines of the mask, Bols directs his blue eyes towards the direction the Alien is facing. Off to his right about a few feet away, one of the remaining pods opened up. The top four flaps parted like a blooming flower and from the opening, a set of appendages resembling fingers appeared. The Jaeger recognize in horror, the hand-like creature him and Run had discovered earlier. Except this one is alive and moving.

The Facehugger climbs down from its egg and began to crawl towards Bols' face. The Jeager struggles to get away, but the Alien still had him pinned. With its free clawed hand, It slips two of its fingers through Bols' lips and pries his mouth open. The Jaeger could do nothing but yell in panic and frustration, as the Facehugger reaches his neck and jumps onto his face. It wraps its long tail around Bols' neck, tightly coiling around the throat. It envelopes the Jaeger's face with its fingers and jams its slick ventral proboscis down his open mouth.

The Alien crawls away from Bols, as the Jaeger thrashes about and tries to pull the Facehugger off his face. The Facehugger tightens its coiled tail, and begins to choke him. Several seconds pass by, and the Jaeger falls back on the floor, lies still and his breathing begins to calm.

The Alien makes ready to cocoon its new victim, but suddenly a loud piercing shriek echoes throughout the Hive. It perks its head up in response to the sound. The Queen has called for her brood to rise and take action. The Xenomorph leaves Bols alone, and exits the chamber through the tunnel. The Queen's order is far more important, and her entire brood has awoken to the call which rang clear as it transmits through their bond and connection as a Hive. "Kill the Intruders".

Run exits the tunnel and stops in the first chamber the Jaegers found, and listens to the loud shriek that came from deep within the Hive. "That can't be good." He says apprehensively. The General's Aide looks around the dimly lit chamber and notices movement in the shadows "The Shadows, just came alive" he quoted, remembering the words of the Imperial Captain they found near the campsite.

Not waiting another second, Run spreads Mastema's wings and flies up to the highest point in the chamber's ceiling. Indescribable shapes began to crawl along the walls, in an attempt to reach the flying Jaeger. "Oh no, you don't." he flaps his wings and launches a volley of razor-sharp feathers at the Shadows, and they begin to screech in pain as some of them fall off the walls and back down to the floor. Many more Shadows remain, so Run launches more cutting feathers at them again and again and again…

Out in the forest, Wave and Kurome look at each other with concern. "What was that?" the black armor clad Jaeger asks, and the teenage assassin only shrugs "I don't know."

Wave walks back to the tunnel leading back into the Hive, and listens. The screeching sound wasn't repeated, and once again the tunnel was as silent as a tomb. He turns to his teammate "Let's go back. The others might be in trou-" _Whip!_ Suddenly, something long, ridged and ending with a blade whipped out of the gloom of the tunnel and wrapped around the black armored Jaeger's neck. And with an effortless tug, Wave was jerked off his feet and dragged into the dark tunnel headfirst.

"Wave!" Kurome yelled out in surprise as she runs towards the tunnel, but stops just outside of it. "Wave!" she called her teammate again and listens for a response. She can hear Wave inside the tunnel, grunting and yelling "Ugh! Get Off Of Me! Shit! Argh!" he was being attacked.

Kurome raises Yatsufusa above her head, and points it straight up "Hang on, Wave!" Before she can summon her puppets, something big jumps out of the forest and lands behind her. Akame's younger sister turns around and forgets about Wave and his situation, to stare at the huge Monstrosity standing before her.

The Creature was massive. Standing 12 feet high, it's body was covered by a mottled grey exoskeletal carapace, and it stood in a ape-like posture with bulky arms propping up its broad torso. The Monster's large armor plated head had no eyes, but it "leered" at Kurome while growling angrily and violently lashing its thick ridged tail about. It started beating its broad chest with its massive arms while it opens its large mouth and utters a primal roar, before letting an inner set of jaws spring out of its mouth in a snapping motion.

The Gorilla Alien struck first. It raises up its massive forearms and smashes them down into the ground in a hammer motion, causing the ground to quake. Before the earthly tremors could reach her, Kurome leaps up into the air and backflips onto the large branch of a nearby tree.

"Sorry, but I'm busy right now. So, why don't you play with my dolls instead?" Kurome taunts, as she summons her puppets "March of the Dead, Yatsufusa!" A black orb appears at Yatsufusa's tip, and dark lightning strikes out from the orb and hits the ground. Wherever the ground was hit, bodies began to emerge and climb out to the surface. The first was a huge ape-like creature with brown fur and red eyes.

"Look! I even brought you a friend to play with!" Kurome said cheerfully. The second was a hooded man with a completely red face and stud-like horns above the brows of his pale white eyes, he carried a knife and held it skillfully poised. The third undead puppet was a middle-aged man with red hair, wore a robe vest and trousers, and brandished a whip.

Kurome gives her puppets instructions "Rokugou, Henter. Apeman will attack the Danger Beast head on. While it's occupied, go around the sides and flank it." The Apeman roared and beats his fists against his chest, Henter began sneering menacingly, and Rokugou calmly stared.

The Gorilla Alien snarled, as it studied its new quarry. Once again It raised its head and bellowed another roar, loudly conveying its challenge. The Apeman charged straight at the Simian Xenomorph, arms raised and ready to pummel the Creature despite the Undead Puppet being 4 feet shorter. The Gorilla Alien threw it arms up and caught the Apeman's by the wrists, before it can strike a blow. Apeman struggled to move his arms, but the Gorilla Alien's grip was overwhelmingly strong.

Henter and Rokugou edged around Its sides, readying to attack. Henter made to leap at the left side with his knife raised and ready to stab at the Gorilla Alien's ribcage, but the Monster's flexible tail lashed out, struck the Undead Puppet down his shoulder and slammed him into the ground. The sound of bones snapping escape from the shallow imprint, where the Puppet was floored. Much of Henter's skeleton has been shattered.

Rokugou stood back at a medium distance and without a free limb for the Gorilla Alien to protect itself, delivered a similar whip attack onto the Monster's defenseless back. The whip struck hard with a force that can shatter rocks, and tore away the armored carapace and exposing the Simian Xenomorph's back.

With the need to free up Its arms, the Gorilla Alien quickly shot out its inner jaw into the Apeman's chest where its heart should be, and hurled the Undead Puppet at Rokugou.

Rokugou tried to dodge, but Apeman's wide girth clipped him and made him fall over. As he tried to regain his footing, a massive clawed hand pressed down against his back and pinned him to the ground. He looks up just in time to see the Gorilla Alien use its other hand to effortlessly pull the Undead Puppet's head off and crush it between Its clawed fingers like a grape.

The Gorilla Alien began drumming its chest and roars triumphantly after seemingly killing its prey. It turns its armored head at Kurome, who only stares back down and grins mischievously. Behind the Simian Xenomorph, something moved. It turns around in time for Apeman to deliver a solid punch across its face.

The Gorilla Alien stood there. Thanks to the armor shell covering its head, it was unaffected by the blow. It backs away from Apeman as they both size each other up. Behind Apeman, a headless Rokugou stood up from where his body lay and Henter was crawling out of his imprint with no proper skeletal structure to support his attempt to stand.

"I forgot to mention. My dolls can never die off from even the most devastating of injuries. Nor will they feel pain or ever get tired. The only way to stop them is to totally destroy the body or eliminate their Master." Kurome teasingly explains. She sat down on her tree branch and playfully crossed her legs and rests her hands on the top knee, as if waiting for a show to start. Behind her, three more puppets stood at attention. One was a blonde haired man in a pale trench coat and held a weapon resembling a naginata. The others were a woman with long blonde hair holding dual revolver pistols, and a bald man in a white business suit holding a riot shield. Below them all, the first three Undead Puppets attack again.

Apeman pulls back his right arm and throws another punch, but the Simian Xenomorph catches it and holds the fist in place. The Gorilla Alien then uses its other hand to grab Apeman by his shoulder. As the Undead Puppet struggles to break free from its clutches, It steadily tears him in half by pulling both the shoulder and arm at opposite ends. Apeman was split in two, right down the middle.

The headless Rokugou raised his whip and twirls it around himself in rapid succession, creating a lashing force field around him and slowly steps toward his target. The Gorilla Alien calmly stands back and observes the approaching threat. It understands that whip's attack can destroy more of Its armored carapace. It chucks one of the halves of Apeman towards Rokugou's whip and watches the body piece get diced into more smaller pieces. The Simian Xenomorph slams it mighty fists into the ground and causes the area around him to quake. The Headless Puppet stumbles from the quake's tremor and topples down, stopping his whip's attack. Before he can stand back up, the Gorilla Alien quickly hops on his legs and crushes them. Afterwards, the Gorilla Alien pummels the Headless Puppet with Its titanic fists and reduces Rokugou to a bloody puddle of unrecognizable pulp.

Off to the side, Henter was still trying to stand up without an intact skeleton. The Gorilla Alien reaches for one of Henter's legs and holds him upside down like a rag doll. It then swings Henter overhead and slams him against the ground with so much force, the shock of impact caused his arms, legs and head to fly off his torso. Henter was reduced to a useless, headless and limbless body.

Kurome menacingly leers down at the Gorilla Alien "How tough. I might want to have you in my collec-" something pushes her off the tree branch, causing her to fall to the ground. She recovers and lands on her feet at the base of the tree. Two of her puppets come down with her, weapons trained upwards

"Natala. Doya. Where's Wall?" Kurome asks, as she looks up and sees Wall. The Undead Puppet was suspended in midair above the tree branch, by a long bladed tail protruding from Wall's chest. Another Creature that was hiding atop the branches of the same tree, lifted an impaled Wall while the Undead Puppet was trying to reach for the tail blade in its back with futility. It levels its head with the puppet's and with a low hiss, opened its mouth and ran its inner jaw into Wall's bald forehead.

"Doya! Shoot it down!" commanded Kurome, and Doya obediently opened fire on the new threat. It retreats back into the leaves of the tree's canopy, dragging a still struggling Wall with it. A grisly sound of flesh being torn apart can be heard, and body parts began to rain down the branches.

Kurome stood back to avoid the gore falling from above, unaware that something emerged from the shrubbery behind her. Natala jumps behind her and holds out his weapon to hold off another Creature. The Jaeger turns around and sees another Monster like the one in the tree, it had a black exoskeleton body with a blue overtone, a smooth elongated head with a bone ribbed formation on the sides, four dorsal tubes sticking out from Its back, a long ridged tail that ended with a spear tipped blade, and two arms with sharp claws on each hand. The very same claws were mere centimeters from reaching the back of Kurome's neck.

The Alien Warrior screeched in frustration after realizing Natala foiled its sneak attack, both of them stood deadlocked. The teenage assassin makes another mischievous grin "Natala is my childhood friend. He always has my ba-" the Xenomorph whipped its tail around the side and clubbed the Undead Puppet off his feet. It then grabs Natala by the ankle and drags him back with it, into the bushes.

Kurome brandishes Yatsufusa and makes ready to charge "Let go of my friend!" she yells. Next to her, Doya aimed her revolvers and fired into the dense underbrush till her bullets ran out. The Female Puppet begins to reload, till suddenly a large stone boulder lands on top of her and flattens her. A pool of blood oozing out from beneath the boulder was all that was left of Doya, aside from a hand sticking out and still holding a gun with the trigger finger twitching and firing empty.

Kurome stopped and looked to see who threw the boulder, and saw the culprit was the Gorilla Alien. It stood at a distance and drove its arms into the ground and pulled out another boulder. In a shot put motion the Simian Xenomorph hurls the second boulder towards Akame's younger sister, who nimbly jumps aside and dodged out of the way.

The Gorilla Alien roars in anger and charges at Kurome, who once again dodged out the way. It misses her and continues hurdling forward, unable to break its stride due to its momentum. The teenage assassin swings Yatsufusa down on its flank as is passes by, but the Imperial Arm's blade bounces harmlessly off the Simian Xenomorph's armored carapace in a reverberating clang and a flash of sparks. She can't cut it.

Kurome studies the Gorilla Alien's body as it fails to stop itself from plowing over several trees. She spots Its uncovered back, where Rokugou destroyed the carapace plating with his whip's attack. The exposed epidermis was only 10 inches wide, too narrow for Yatsufusa to slash it. "I'm going to have to stab it." the teenage assassin surmised "I'll need to stab it accurately, so that I may sever the spinal column and hopefully kill this beast. For that to work, I'll need It to stay still." She raises Yatsufusa and points it up again.

Just as Kurome was about to summon another doll, three Alien Warriors pounced from behind another set of foliage and bore down on the unwary Jaeger. Before the trio could reach her, a large pink tongue shoots out from a different bush, wraps around the three Xenomorphs, and pulls them into the gaping maw of a large frog with green skin and red spots.

Kurome carefully stands near the frog for safety "This one here is my newest Doll, Kaiser Frog. Its got a long flexible tongue and a stomach full of acid that can dissolve rocks in mere seconds." The three Aliens struggled to escape the Kaiser Frog's mouth, but were quickly gulped down whole. "Have fun, becoming toad shit. You can accompany all those people, Koro ate and eventually left on the Imperial Palace's front lawn." taunted the Jaeger.

The bushes where the Alien Warrior dragged Natala, began to rustle. Kurome looks behind her "Natala. Come help me kill the large Danger Bea-" she stops talking and makes a horrified expression. It wasn't Natala

The Alien Warrior stalks out of the bushes, its face, claws and tail blade were covered in blood. Natala's blood.

"What have you done to him!?" Kurome demanded, but the Xenomorph only hissed and bared its teeth also stained with blood. Next to her, a wet sound of flesh being torn apart can be heard coming from the Kaiser Frog. The Puppet Danger Beast's belly starts to bulge, and the flesh ripping sound grew louder.

One of the Alien Warrior's head erupts from out of Kaiser Frog and its belly explodes, dousing the immediate area with blood, guts, stomach acids, and three unharmed Xenomorphs. "Impossible! How were you all not dissolved by the acid!?" exclaimed an astonished Kurome. The trio of Aliens righted themselves up and screeched at her, stomach acid dripped off of them and burned the ground.

Kurome stared at the spectacle around her in disbelief. One by one, her Puppets have been brutally destroyed by these Creatures. One got Natala, another took Wall, three of them tore up the Kaiser Frog, and the big one crushed the other four. They surrounded her from all sides and closed in with more coming from out of the woodwork. "Enough of these Games!" The teenage assassin bellows as she points Yatsufusa up once more and conjures dark lightning "Desta Ghoul!"

The ground trembles and a gigantic skeletal claw shoots out from below. Kurome quickly steps onto the the claw's open palm. The Alien Warriors scurried away and assembled behind the Gorilla Alien, as the rest of the Final Puppet climbs out from the ground and stood up. Its body resembled the skeleton of a giant dinosaur. "You took away my dolls! Now I'll take all of your lives!" Akame's younger sister cries out in demented fury. The Desta Ghoul parts it jaws and a large devastating beam of energy blasted forth. The beam streaked across the forest landscape to where the Aliens congregated, leaving a trail of gouged earth in its wake.

After the beam receded, Kurome had the Desta Ghoul place her on the ground to observe the devastation. She walks to where the Aliens have stood and found no trace of the creatures. She makes a sadistic smile, believing to have vaporized her enemies.

Behind the teenage assassin, the Desta Ghoul falls on its back in a resounding thud. "What the Hell!?" she exclaims, as she spotted the Gorilla Alien standing atop the Desta Ghoul's face. It had taken a massive leap upwards to avoid the Puppet Danger Beast's beam attack, then dropped down forcefully onto the face in retaliation. The Desta Ghoul raises a claw to swipe the Simian Xenomorph off its face, but the latter simply swats the claw away. Its strength clearly outmatched the Undead Puppet's.

The Gorilla Alien then starts to pry open the Desta Ghoul's mouth. Noticing the target is in the line of fire, the Undead Danger Beast parts its jaws to make a beam blast. The Gorilla Alien was counting on it making this move. It wrenches the mouth wide open and quickly belched yellow fluid into the Desta Ghoul's gaping maw.

As the Desta Ghoul's head began to dissolve, the Gorilla Alien began hammering it fists against the puppet's skull to hasten its demolition. It was unaware of the black petite blur of a charging teenage assassin.

Kurome rushed to her target while it was busy demolishing her last doll, and steadied Yatsufusa. Before the Gorilla Alien could notice the strike, the Jaeger bounds away from the ground and plunges the Imperial Arm's blade straight into the Beast's vulnerable back as she lands.

The Simian Xenomorph roars in pain, as Kurome fought to drive Yatsufusa deeper. The Gorilla Alien frantically tried reaching behind to grab her, but Akame's younger sister's petite form and middle placement allowed her to avoid being grabbed. She grits her teeth and pushes with all her might, till she finally hears the satisfying sound of a snapping vertebrae. The Beast's movements began to slow, until eventually collapsing to the ground. It is Dead.

Kurome concentrates and activated Yatsufusa's ability. Dark lightning began to course through the blade and into the dead Gorilla Alien. "You cost me of my entire collection! Now, you'll serve me as a replacement and help gather new dolls for me." Declared the teen assassin triumphantly, then she starts giggling maniacally "You're incredibly powerful. With you by my side, I'll finally be able to get back my Big Sis…" the dark lightning disappears and a sizzling noise of something being dissolved can be heard. The wound where the Imperial Arm was embedded started to vent smoke.

Kurome draws Yatsufusa from the Gorilla Alien's body, and looks on in horror. All along the Imperial Arm's blade, a yellowish fluid was quickly eating away at the metal. "No!" she cried in disbelief, as the blade was completely melted away by the acid. All that was left was the hilt. Yatsufusa has been destroyed.

Kurome falls to her knees beside the dead Gorilla Alien and choked back her tears. She had lost her important weapon and with it, her dolls, her usefulness to the Empire and her only means of getting Akame back were gone. Disgusted with herself and her failure, she throws away Yatsufusa's hilt and checks her surroundings. Much of the forest has been razed by the recent battle between her puppets and the Creatures that were clearly the Serpents the soldier from the campsite had mentioned. She eyes the Beast's carcass beside her and sees more of the yellowish fluid which is obviously Its blood, flowing out of the wound and running along the body till it touches the ground. It slowly burned a familiar hole beneath.

"Acid for blood?" Kurome steps away to avoid the acid from reaching her, then she recalls the words the dying Imperial Captain had said "You can't fight your sins. Anyone who strikes at them, and the hand that hits them is reduced to burned char." She gazes at the acid blood in understanding "It's got an amazing defense mechanism. You wouldn't dare strike it with a melee weapon." She surmised as she started checking her destroyed dolls, hoping to salvage a replacement weapon to defend herself.

The remaining gun left by Doya is empty and the other gun is crushed beneath the boulder along with the blonde haired puppet. Kurome walks over to where the Gorilla Alien obliterated her first three dolls. Henter's knife was left intact, but the same couldn't be said about the owner who was in pieces all over. She picks up the knife and tests it weight. The teen assassin has had some prior experience with knives from her days of brutal training as an assassin for the Empire. She can see Rokugou's whip next to the puddle that was once Rokugou himself. Kurome was never familiar with using a whip and in her current situation, learning on the go wouldn't be a safe prospect. She leaves the whip alone and checks the bushes nearby to find her next option. She steps into a clearing to discover the fate of her doll Natala. The body of her friend has been completely eviscerated. The face was nearly unrecognizable with the majority of it being slashed, leaving a single eye gouged out while the other remained and left staring aimlessly at the sky. The rest of the body was a bloody mess. One arm was lopped off, and the other's hand was ripped off by the wrist. One of the legs was intact, but the other was partially melted with droplets of yellow fluid continuing to dissolve towards the bone before losing potency. The same was for the waist portion. "The Creature must have been hit by Doya's bullets and bled onto Natala." The Jaeger concluded, holding back some more tears as she examined the main torso. Countless cuts, stabs, and bite marks perforated the body. The puppet body of her childhood friend was gone, and she no longer has Yatsufusa to bring him back.

The surge of emotions pass, and Kurome bent down to pick up Natala's weapon Trisula, a pole arm with an ability to extend its haft for the blade to reach long distances. She's not much familiar with wielding spears or staff weapons, but this one's gimmick can give her an edge of fighting from medium and long range and she's seen Natala use it plenty of times to get a basic understanding of using the weapon. The teen tucks Henter's knife in the back of her skirt and holds Trisula with both hands. It's hefty, but not too difficult to wield. She takes one last look at her puppet and murmurs "Goodbye…" before jogging back towards the Hive tunnel. "Wave. Please be alright…" she says with concern for her teammate. Akame's little sister had already lost too much in a single day and for some reason, she couldn't bear the thought of losing Wave too. She was just about to reach the tunnel, but something moved out the corner of her vision and she held up Trisula just in time to block a large green blur from hurling straight into her.

Kurome was thrown off her feet by the sheer force of impact from the blocked attack, and was knocked towards a tree. The blow sat her down and leaning up against the tree trunk, her back ached and she is sure she's got whiplash. The teen assassin looked up to see who assailed her, and her dark eyes widened. It was another Serpent Creature. It looked similar to its brethren, but with subtle differences. It body exoskeleton was black also, but with a dark green overtone instead of blue. Its elongated head was slightly thinner and sleeker. No dorsal tubes on Its back. And finally, Its tail blade and claws were longer and sharper. It moved on all fours, resembling some sort of feline. Or canine.

"What the Hell kind of Danger Beasts, are you!?" asked Kurome darkly, in disbelief that another one was lying in wait. "Are you even Danger Beasts at all!?" she continues.

The Dog Alien parts its mouth and emits a loud screech, as it crept towards the injured Jaeger and rears up. Standing at 10 ft, It was taller than Its 8 ft human based brethren.

In a desperate attempt to kill it, Kurome extends Trisula to impale the Runner Xenomorph, but it merely dodged the incoming blade and grasped the haft with its tail. With an effortless tug, It yanks Trisula out of Kurome's hands and constricts the weapon so hard, it breaks the weapon in half.

Kurome sits there and once again stares in disbelief at the Creature's overwhelming power. She then looks away as the Dog Alien crept closer to her, and brings Its face right next to hers. It lets out a loud hiss, as its inner jaw slides lazily out of Its mouth and brushes against her cheek. Taking a chance, Kurome quickly reaches for Henter's knife and pulls it out of her skirt to stab the face. The Runner Xenomorph reacted by catching her hand that held the weapon. The Dog Alien squeezed hard on the teen's wrist until the bone snapped. Crying out in pain she drops the knife, after the hand goes numb and searing white hot. With Its other hand, the Dog Alien clasps Kurome's neck and the claws dig deep underneath the back nape.

Kurome's vision begins to fade and she whispers "Big Sis…" before the darkness claimed her. The Dog Alien drops the body to the ground and examines it, deliberating about what it should do. It still senses life inside of her, despite the extreme injury she had suffered. Its options were to finish her off, either by inner jaw through the head or tail blade impalement through her heart. Its first reaction was to cocoon her, but it can sense this one was different from the others. Her body had a different chemical composition and it was slowly degrading her body's health. She may not be a proper host for the little ones, an Alien larvae might not be able to properly grow inside her polluted body. Better to kill her, here and now than risk the little ones impregnating her and possibly grow an abomination by even Xenomorph standards.

The Dog Alien turns over Kurome's body and makes ready to impale her forehead. Her dark eyes flutter open and her body begins to radiate a black aura. "The body enhancement drugs the Empire injected me with, has an effect that makes my body more durable than normal. Even several fatal injuries can be withstood. The tradeoff is that I go through the most excruciating pain imaginable. I'm literally going out of my mind from how much it hurts. In order to properly kill me, you'll have to remove my head or destroy my heart!" she explains maniacally. The Runner Xenomorph takes the hint and holds Kurome steady to run Its inner jaw through her chest. It winds back the inner jaw for a bite, and abruptly stops. It turns its head to the side as if "looking" at something elsewhere. If then tosses the Jaeger aside and scurries off towards the Hive at a ridiculously high speed, leaving the teen assassin alone.

Kurome rights herself up and frantically tries to take out her bag of sweets. The pain in her body is unbearable, and threatened to make her pass out again. All she knows is that the sweets from her bag can make her feel better, unaware that the sweets are laced with drugs to prevent the chemicals inside her body from killing her sooner. "Tasty Sweets…" she commented idly, while consuming the contents of her bag. Behind her, a tall dark silhouette approaches and reaches for her.

"Kurome…" Wave calls out softly, as he places an armored hand upon the teen assassin's shoulder. Kurome turns around while gasping, but quickly recovers and throws her arms around her comrade and hugs him "Wave! You're okay!". That was an understatement. She releases her embrace and gasps again after examining the black armor clad Jaeger.

The Grand Chariot's black armor was badly damaged. Countless dents and claw marks covered every inch of its plating. The helmet had four deep cuts streaked across the translucent visor. Blood stained the left leg and right shoulder of the main body, where the armor plating is breached. The mantle film extension from the back was chipped in various places.

Wave's been fighting off a horde of the Creatures, and it seems like They put him through the wringer. But the meek smile he gave after deactivating Grand Chariot, shows Kurome that he seems alright despite the cut on his leg and a stab wound on his shoulder. "What happened to you? You look like you've been through a War." She asked.

Wave stops smiling and speaks "You're not that far off the mark. There must have been dozens of them. Maybe a hundred. After one of them reeled me into the shadows, they jumped me all at once. I started swinging at whatever moved toward me. They got plenty of good licks in, before they scurried off and disappeared down the tunnel all of the sudden. Something must have drawn them away elsewhere." He grins reassuringly "Well, it looks worse than it feels. Though, a couple of bandages and some aspirin wouldn't hurt either." Said Wave jokingly, as he gazes upon Kurome and notices the trail of blood seeping out from behind her neck as well as the bruises on her bent wrist. "What happened, Kurome!? You're injured!" he exclaimed with a concerned look on his face.

Kurome covers her neck wound with her good hand and ignores the pain and blood trickling out "Oh, this is nothing. A minor scratch. One of those Monsters got to me too." Wave didn't seem convinced, and the concern didn't recede from his dark blue eyes. Anger flashed in the teen assassin's own dark eyes, and she tried standing to demonstrate her boasted state of health. Only to fall back down on her knees, the look of excruciating pain and exhaustion shown evidently clear on her contorted face.

"Kurome, you're seriously hurt! Don't push yourself like that." Insisted Wave, but his fellow Jaeger scowled and barked back "I said, I'm fine! I can take care of myself!". But Wave only gripped both her shoulders to keep her steady "You're not! Even I can see the terrible state you're in."

Tears began to form in Kurome's dark eyes "The others, they must never find out about my weakened state. If anyone learns the extent of my injuries, I'll likely be killed!" she desperately explains "I've killed so many people for the Empire. People, who the Empire would rather not have others knowing about. If I could no longer be of any use to them and become a liability, I'll be eliminated and disposed of in order to protect their secrets."

Wave frowned as he hears these words "I won't let that happen. I'll protect you." Kurome started to laugh hysterically "Why would you go so far as to do that, for me? I'm expendable. Easily replaced by others like me" she stops laughing when something smothered her face, and she realized her teammate was hugging her in a tight embrace

"You're not expendable." Declared Wave, and then he murmured "And you're not replaceable, either. How can that be? No one is as cute and strong, as you are." Kurome started to blush from hearing his words. His embrace shocked and embarrassed her, but she kept still. It's been a long time since she was ever hugged by someone. Only Akame ever did that to her. She forgot how warm it felt.

Wave released the hug and spoke "I promise, I won't tell anyone about your condition. But you have to promise me something, in return. Promise me, you won't push yourself that hard, that you'll hang back from the major battles as much as you can." Kurome nods quietly and remembers something "I lost my Imperial Arm. Yatsufusa has been destroyed by the Creatures." The sailor Jaeger nods his head in understanding "That's okay. No one's gonna fault you for that. You fought the Enemy, you survived and you won. That makes you a hero, not a liability. We can always get you a replacement weapon." The teen assassin shakes her head "You still don't get it. In the Empire's point of view, I'm the Weapon. They'd sooner replace me as the wielder of an Imperial Arm, and get someone else who's better at fighting with one."

Wave sighs, and unzips his jacket. He brings out a roll of bandages and a small bottle of sterilizing alcohol from an inner pocket and zips it back up. He starts cleaning the blood off Kurome's neck, before dressing the wound. "You're just flesh and blood. If you were a living weapon like Koro, could I turn you against those Serpents? Would you grow to monster size and squash the Creatures like bugs?"

Kurome shakes her head and admits "No". Wave then explains "The Empire is the most powerful nation in the world. The First Emperor himself created the Imperial Arms. If the Empire can make weapons like those once, they can do it again. They just need some time, and the right resources and materials." He finished bandaging Kurome's neck and bent down to examine her wrist. He frowns and looks at the forest around them. He sees a good size stick, so be grabs it and breaks it in two. Using the sticks and a piece of leather taken from his jacket's other pocket, he binds up Kurome's wrist with a makeshift splint. After treating Kurome to first-aid, he reaches down, grasps her good hand and helps her up off the ground.

The teen assassin stands on shaking legs that threatened to give out from under her, but Wave steadies her again and wraps his arm around her waist. "As much as I want to carry you, I'm afraid I'm in no shape to do that. So here's what we'll do. We'll lean against each other and walk side by side. Place your good arm around my waist, the same way I'm doing it with yours. That way, our weight will combine and distribute between us. I'll hold us up with my good leg and carry us along as we walk." Kurome nods and does as her teammate says. Hanging on to each other's sides, Wave places the combined weight onto his unscathed right leg. After a few practice steps, the two of them maintained their balance and turn towards East where the Expeditionary Force campsite was.

Wave takes a look back at the Hive structure and the tunnel that led to it "Well, it's safe to say, we won't be doing much good if we continue to fight out here. Let's retreat back to camp and see about getting me some First-aid also."

Kurome began to protest "But, Wave! The others could be in danger! It wouldn't be right to just cut and run, and leave them behind."

"You and I can barely stand. We'll just be in the way." Wave counter argued "Besides. I have an idea, as to how we can help."

Kurome turns silent, as she and Wave began limping and hobbling through the forest, in the direction towards the Campsite.

Chapter 3 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback will be appreciated. If you have any questions let me know with PM. Next chapter, the battle continues for Villain supremacy. Heroes are joined by powerful friends.


	5. Chapter 4

To All Readers: Sorry for the long delay. A lot of work and research went into the writing of this chapter. Because you as the reader, deserve the best. I noticed people are asking if I'll be including Predator. He will be making an appearance in this story, but I have to be honest. I might only have him play a small cameo role, but I'll reconsider if readers desire more Predator involvement. I intend to make the Aliens the central antagonists to this story. Hope you all understand. And rest assured, I will try to incorporate as many varieties of Aliens as I possibly could. Thank you and enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 4 : Alien vs Jaeger

 **Unknown Area North of Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

 _Skreee!_ The loud piercing shriek reverberated through the center corridor where Esdeath and Seryu stood. Both Jaegers flinched at the intensity of the noise, until it died down. Esdeath resumes her insidious grin, knowing that the time had finally come for the Creatures to make Their move. Beside the General, her Subordinate looks towards the direction where the shriek originated. The auburn haired murderess gaped with a fearful expression and was about to ask her Commander "What the Hell was That!?". But she sees the calm and ready look on the Jaegers' leader's face, which restored her own confidence. Alongside her, Koro whined while covering his floppy ears with his small arms. "It's alright, Koro. Justice is on our side. There's nothing to be afraid of." She said reassuringly. The Justice City Detector on her arm started to blip with tracking signals from multiple directions. A lot of them.

"Movement!" Seryu calls out, while constantly looking down at her Justice City Detector then up at the tunnel walls around her "I got multiple readings, in front and behind! They're closing." Beside her, Esdeath grins and eagerly awaits for her Enemy to appear. It's been a while since they stood here and waited for the Danger Beasts to make a move. The General was sending out pulses of Killing Intent, all the while.

"Talk to me, Seryu. How many are there, and what's their position?" Commanded Esdeath. Seryu looks back at her radar scope with uncertainty "I can't lock in. Signal's too big to single out. They're all around us." The General frowns and squints down the path they came in from. Both her and her subordinate's eyes have already adjusted to the Hive's dim lighting. But she can't make out any shapes at a certain distance away. All she sees are moving shadows. Whatever is in here, it's staying just out of range of view. "Try harder Seryu. I need more details." She insisted.

"Signal concentration is high, back down the way we came from. The signal is getting more dense. Their numbers seems to be increasing. According to these readings, the way before us has a lesser number. They're holding position just a few yards away from us, letting their forces swell." Explained Seryu.

The Jaegers' leader held her rapier ready and addresses Seryu and Koro "Both of you, get ready for battle. They're planning to overwhelm us with sheer numbers. We carry the advantage inside this tunnel. They can't surround us in such narrow spacing. I got the rear. Seryu, you and Koro take the front. Press ahead down the path, when I give the order. Understood?" Both, the auburn haired Jaeger and her Imperial Arm nod in confirmation.

Seryu holds up the Sung Dynasty Blade with anticipation, and Koro grew to a medium sized beast. While the biological Imperial Arm faced down the tunnel and growled violently, his wielder stood behind him and glared at her radar scope. A new signal blipped closer to their position, almost right on top of them.

Seryu looks up in a panic and spots a pair of clawed hands reaching out from the wall behind Esdeath. The claws were inches away from the Jaegers' leader, who remained oblivious. "Behind You!" her subordinate screamed as she raised the large blade and dashed forward.

The General reflexively ducked under Seryu's blade as she drove it into the Creature that was hiding within the Hive walls this whole time. It makes a painful screech and thrashes wildly, but Seryu continuously stabs it, her face quickly warping into a psychotic state. "Have a taste of Justice, you Demon!" she gleefully screams.

The Alien stops moving after receiving an abundant amount of stabs from the auburn haired murderess. "Evil doesn't stand a chance against my Justice!" declared Seryu while laughing at the Xenomorph's corpse. Above her, a long bladed tail uncoiled from the ceiling.

"Get down!" ordered Esdeath as she raised her rapier and lunged at the other Creature that hid in the tunnel ceiling. The other Alien screeched in surprise as it was run through with the long metal blade. It falls from the ceiling and the General swiftly hacked off one of Its legs.

"Pretty clever, for you to be hiding within the walls this whole time. If my Subordinate and I had not spotted you before you've attacked, you certainly would have gotten the drop on us." Taunted Esdeath, as she slowly steps closer to the injured Alien "Let's get a good look at you. I want to see what your face of painful agony and anguish shows" the Creature tries to right itself up, but without a leg It can only accomplish propping Its body on Its arms and crawl towards the General.

It was close enough for Esdeath and Seryu to see it clearly and both Jaegers just stared in mild shock, unsure of what they were seeing. It was bigger than a human, had two arms and two legs, but the resemblance ended there. Its body was black with a tinge of blue, exoskeletal, had a long segmented tail that was armed with a lance like blade, four dorsal tubes on Its back and an elongated head with only a snarling mouth at where the face should be. It has no eyes or nose, but It was somehow able to see because it "looked" up to face the General and her Subordinate and hissed at them.

"How disgusting. What matter of creatures are you, if you don't have a face to express your suffering?" asked a sadistic Esdeath. Beside her, Seryu overcomes her bewilderment at the Xenomorph's bizarre appearance and prattles "Never thought a Danger Beast could look as ugly as that! You can only be a creature of pure Evil, to look that hideous. For the sake of Justice, we're gonna exterminate your kind and erase you all from existence, you Freak!"

If the Creature felt threatened or insulted by that remark, It didn't make any indication. It only bared its silvery teeth, before parting the jaws to reveal more teeth of the secondary jaws inside. The inner jaws flexed menacingly, seemingly eager to snap at anything that comes close enough.

Esdeath was amused by the Alien's vicious nature, and It's apparent ignorance to pain or ridicule. Even when injured and in a compromised position, the Xenomorph still resolved to attack. The General raised her sword and made ready to prolong Its suffering, by cutting off another limb. And then she sees the melted blade of her rapier, it was being dissolve by yellow fluid that had splashed on when she cut the Creature.

"Huh?" Esdeath gaped at her ruined sword and noticed the yellow fluid was traveling down the blade and on to the guard. It was just about to reached the hilt, before the Jaegers' leader discarded the weapon letting it clatter to the floor. She watches as the last bits of her rapier was dissolved away into a clump of smoking metal, her eyes widen with recognition "The yellow liquid from before, Acid." She gazes over at the Alien as It continues Its struggle to crawl towards her and Seryu's position, and sees the yellow acid was flowing from the Xenomorph's severed leg.

"Acid for blood?". Realizing the danger, Esdeath turns to her Subordinate "Seryu! Get rid of your blade!". The auburn haired murderess looks to her Sung Dynasty Blade and gasps in surprise as well, when she saw that the broad blade has been nearly reduced to a twisted hunk of slag. The acid blood flowed dangerously close to the connection socket, where the Judgment of the Ten Kings weapon coupled itself to her arm.

Seryu moved fast to work some latches and ejected the Sung Dynasty Blade off her arm, leaving a mechanical stump in its place. She looks carefully at her melted blade, still in awe by the acid's voraciously corrosive properties. "Uh…I…what?" for once, the auburn haired Jaeger was at a loss for words. She had never fought anything as relentless and volatile as these Danger Beasts.

"Seryu, pay attention!" yelled Esdeath, and her subordinate whirls around in time to see a blur of teeth and claws as the wounded Alien heaved itself off the ground and quickly pounced onto the distracted Jaeger. Seryu fell to the floor with the angry Xenomorph on top of her.

The Alien Warrior struggled to claw at the young woman, but Seryu had her remaining arm out in front of her, grasping the Alien's neck and was desperately holding the Monster at bay. The arm's mechanical properties was barely sufficient to hold off the Xenomorph from mauling the auburn haired murderess in the face. So instead, the Alien reached and grabbed Seryu's shoulders with It claws. Using that as leverage, the Xenomorph pulled itself closer to Seryu and opens Its mouth to use the inner jaws.

"Get Off Of Her!" roared Esdeath, as she stood by and tried to figure out how to help Seryu. The Jaegers' leader had thought about cutting the Creature down with an ice sword she conjured up to serve as a replacement to her rapier, but the Monster's large body was on top of Seryu. If the General cuts It, the acid blood will spatter onto her Subordinate below. The two of them are too close to each other, and all of Esdeath's usual attack methods can't kill the Creature without killing or freezing Seryu as well.

The Alien was slowly inching Its face closer to Seryu's as the auburn haired Jaeger's arm started to recede, unable to resist the Xenomorph's superior strength. Eager to dispatch Its prey, the Alien Warrior shot out Its inner jaw towards the Jaeger's forehead. The inner jaw stopped short a few centimeters from Seryu's head and snapped with futility, unable to reach its target.

Desperate and dangerously close to certain death, Seryu opens her mouth to reveal the hidden gun inside and prepares to shoot the Creature. Then, she realized that was not an option. With the Monster's face so close to her own, a gunshot to It would most definitely cause the acid blood to spray all over her face.

Sensing the revealed weaponry from Its prey, the Alien Warrior shoots out Its inner jaw again while aiming for Seryu's mouth gun. Seryu retracted the gun back into her mouth and shuts it, just as the Xenomorph's secondary jaw reaches where the gun was a split second ago. Being so close yet not close enough, the teeth of the Alien's inner jaw delicately pressed against Seryu's lips, in probably the most grotesque form of a makeshift kiss. An unholy form of intimacy between horrid killers. The inner jaw retracts away from Seryu's lips, leaving a trailing strand of the Alien's saliva between them that didn't break. Even, as the inner jaw wound back into the Xenomorph's mouth to ready another bite attempt. Seryu was stunned, too shocked and thoroughly disgusted at the fact that she gave away her first kiss to a Monster. She felt like she was being violated.

Certainly close enough for a head bite, the Alien shoots out Its inner jaws a third time, but once again stops short a few centimeters away from Seryu's forehead. The Jaeger recovers from her shock and looks up to see that Koro has used his monster strength to lift the Alien Warrior off of her.

The Xenomorph screeches in anger and frustration, as it tries prying open Koro's hand to get away. But, the biological Imperial Arm's strength was superior and wouldn't let up his grip. Koro makes a deep throaty chuckle as he observes the Creature's futile attempt to escape his clutches. He then, opens his large mouth and bites down on the Alien's upper torso.

Seryu wipes the slime from her mouth, stands up, and screams "Koro, No!". Too late. As Koro chews on the Creature's flesh, the acid blood gushes out and dissolves away the biological Imperial Arm's mouth and the hand that still held the Alien's bleeding lower body.

Koro stumbles back as the pieces of the Creature's body falls away from him. He tries to roar in anger but without a mouth, all he can manage is a wet throaty growl. Only his tongue was left hanging limp out of his still intact gullet. Everything else beneath his snout has been melted away, up to where his uvula hanged.

"Come on, Koro! Concentrate on regenerating! We're not out of this yet!" pleaded Seryu, hoping Koro's mouth and hand will regenerate in time to fight. A multitude of blips sounded off from her Justice City Detector, and she holds up her arm to look at the radar scope. The mass of signals from both directions of the tunnel have started to move in. Fast.

"Ma'am! We've got Incoming! Both sides!" Seryu urgently yelled, and Esdeath placed both her hands on the ground "Watch out, you two! Stand off to the side!". Koro quickly grabbed Seryu with his remaining hand and gently lifted her up to place safely on his shoulders. He steps off to the side and braces. At either side, the three of them can now see a vast horde of charging Aliens swarming through the tunnel towards them.

Esdeath concentrates and uses her ability to freeze both ends of the entire corridor. Everything in the tunnel with the exception of the General, her Subordinate, and the biological Imperial Arm, were instantly frozen in a solid block of ice.

Seryu climbs down off of Koro and stares throughout the frozen corridor in amazement. On both sides of the tunnel, the passages were completely solidified into walls of ice. And encased within the ice, were the frozen bodies of the Creatures. Completely encapsulated while in motion.

Esdeath walks up to the ice formation and peers at the Aliens. "Too easy." She chuckled, slightly disappointed that the Creatures didn't prove much of a challenge.

A loud crunching noise sounded off from the ice. The General looked closely and notice large cracks were forming. Suddenly both ice walls broke apart like shattering glass and the Aliens emerged and screeched in unison. None of them were affected by the ice that encased them, in fact most of them seem only annoyed for being encumbered by being frozen.

"Impossible! Why are you not dead!? The hypothermal shock alone should have killed you instantly!" yelled Esdeath, when she saw that her attack only served as a nuisance to these Monsters. The Aliens shook the remaining shards of ice off their exoskeletons and made ready to charge once more.

Seryu turns to Koro and watches in panic as the biological Imperial Arm has barely regenerated half of his mouth and most of his hand. The auburn haired Jaeger won't be able to equip any more Judgement of the Ten Kings fast enough without Koro's working mouth.

Esdeath was undaunted by the coming onslaught. Regaining her composure, she delicately waves her hands through the air and conjures hundreds of icicles. "Let's see how you all do against this! Weissschnabel!" with a flicking gesture of her hands, the Jaegers' leader sends a barrage of daggers sized icicles towards both oncoming hordes of Aliens.

The ice projectiles darted into the Creatures at the velocity of bullets, and it only slowed them down. The Aliens at the forefront received the full brunt of the barrage and only suffered minor wounds. The icicles would ricochet off the Xenomorphs' reinforced cowl when hit at their heads, and their torsos and limbs would only be embedded with the icicles. None of the ice projectiles could penetrate through their exoskeletons.

Esdeath saw the lack of effectiveness her technique had, so she quickly adjusted her method of attack. She conjures up more icicles and shapes them to the length of javelins, before hurling the next volley with even greater force. It proved to be more successful. All the Creatures that were struck by ice were skewered and pinned down by whichever limbs that were hit, their bodies effectively blocked up and stalled the hordes from approaching further. "It's working." The General observed with satisfaction.

"Way to go, Commander! Show those disgusting Freaks, how Justice stands tall against the forces of Evil!" Seryu cried gleefully, behind her Koro finishes regenerating his mouth and hands. "Koro. Have you completely regenerated?" the amber eyed murderess asked when she looked at him. The biological Imperial Arm chomps and snaps his jaw, and flexes his regrown hand to show that he's back to full strength. Seryu grins insidiously "Good. Next time, don't eat these Demons. Use your strength and break their bodies instead." Koro nods and growls maliciously.

Esdeath looks back at the two of them "Look alive, you two! There's still more of these Things to kill!" she then conjures more ice javelins and sends them at the hordes again. The Weissschnabel technique was holding the Creatures at bay, but the Aliens were determined. Any of the Xenomorphs that were skewered and pinned by the ice javelins, would break off their arms and legs and continue forward. Only the ones that were pierced in the head or in the center body, have stopped moving.

"Vitals must be located in the same place, where the heart and the brain would be." The Jaegers' leader surmised. She was about to relay her observation to Seryu and Koro, but stopped when she saw what the Aliens are up to.

The bogged down hordes seized their fallen brethren, held them aloft and pressed forward once again. "That's not going to work!" growled Esdeath, as she sends another volley of ice javelins. The attack no longer had any effect. The ice javelins rained onto the hordes and were absorbed by the bodies of dead Aliens, which acted like makeshift shields and protected their still living brethren. None of the ice javelins could penetrate through, because their acid blood would dissolve any projectile that didn't pass through fast enough. It would take the velocity greater than that of a rifle round, to get through without being completely dissolved.

Esdeath gazed in astonishment, as the Creatures have once again adapted and overcame her attacks. She wanted to smirk, to grin, to smile, but couldn't because that required a thrilling sense of joy which she isn't feeling right now. It was something else, something unfamiliar. But, she always felt thrilled and joyfully alive when in battle. Why was this any different? She's been aching for a fight with strong opponents and here she is, in the middle of enemy territory, surrounded by deadly foes. And she had always fought and won.

She's done it before, against wild Danger Beasts, the Ban Tribe, Najenda and her fellow defectors, and most recently Numa Seika and the Northern Tribes. None of them have ever offered much of a challenge. So she and her army would have their way, and violate them, ravaging their homes and their people. She had always defeated the enemies of the Empire, and her subordinates would enjoy the spoils of her victories.

So, what is this strange feeling then? Esdeath's gaze drifted down to her hands and she realized they're shaking. Was it from excitement? Exhilaration? No, it wasn't that. Her blood was rushing and her heart was racing for sure, but she felt cold as well. She has never felt cold before. Even when using her ability to control ice, she had never felt any chills. She thinks back on why people would shake and feel cold, yet not while under freezing temperatures. Then, she figured it out when her thoughts drifted to most of the people she's killed. And why they would shake, tremble, and shiver, before they were actually frozen alive or slaughtered by ice attacks.

It was Fear. Fear was the reason why her victims shook uncontrollably. The same way Esdeath's hands were shaking right now. She's afraid. Afraid of the Monsters in front of her. Afraid, because unlike all of her enemies she's come up against in the past, these Danger Beasts seemed to not know pain, or exhaustion, or fear for that matter. And so far, her ice attacks hasn't been that effective towards Them.

The Serpents are closer now. They approached cautiously, so as not to be taken unawares by another ice strike. "Stay Back!" screamed Esdeath, utterly shocked by her own terrified voice. She holds out her hands and created walls of ice, separating her, Seryu, and Koro from the Aliens. The ice barriers are holding, despite the Xenomorphs smashing and clawing against them.

"How can this be? Where have I gone wrong?" the General wondered, as she quickly observed her surroundings and found her answer.

This Place. This Hive. This is Their World. This is their Element. In here, They are Invisible. In here, They are Invincible. In here, They are the strong Predators and the Jaegers are the weak Prey. And all she did was waltz straight into their midst without reserve, and allowed herself to be trapped.

"No! I am not trapped! I haven't lost! I Am Not Weak!" roared Esdeath. She seethed with anger and hatred towards the idea of being helpless, and her insecurities faded away as her usual demeanor returned. She hasn't lost yet, not as long as she is alive and able to keep fighting. She's bought some time with her ice barrier, and she began rethinking her strategy. "They're incredibly strong, but we've seen them die. They can be killed. We just need an efficient way of dealing with them." She mused. The blue haired General goes over her abilities "Freezing Them accomplished nothing, and Weissschnabel only worked to a lesser degree." She looked at where she stood. Although her technique can summon thousands of icicles, the corridor's narrow spacing only permitted her to summon a few hundred at a time.

"It's the location. We're the ones at a disadvantage here. These Things are able to dominate in limited spacing." Surmised Esdeath. She needed to get to a more open area. Either outside the Hive, or even another cavernous chamber would suffice.

The General turned to the others. Koro handed Seryu a spare mechanical arm, which the latter then attached and fitted to her stump. "Seryu. Koro. Listen up. I was wro-…change of plans. We're no longer holding position here. When I give the order, push forward and make a break towards the other end of the tunnel."

Seryu holds out her arm with the Justice City Detector attached "Koro! Number 5!" Koro clamps his large mouth on Seryu's arm and spits back out, revealing a large drill in place of where the radar scope arm was.

Amidst the banging and scratching noise coming from the ice walls, a new sound catches Esdeath and Seryu's attention. A loud sizzling noise can be heard from behind the barriers, and acrid smoke vented from the growing cracks in the ice. Behind the ice walls, the Creature's were pressing the bodies of their fallen against the barrier.

"They're using the acid blood of their dead to dissolve the ice and melt it quicker." Esdeath realized. She turns to her subordinate "Get ready! As soon as they're about to break through, charge forward and don't stop until you've reached the end of the tunnel. I'll be right behind you, leaving more ice walls behind to hold off the main swarm."

Seryu nods, holds the large drill out in front of her, and gets set. Beside her, Koro expands his arms and flanks her. In case the auburn haired Jaeger risks getting acid splashed on her, the biological Imperial Arm will cover her with his arms and try to block it. His body can regenerate, hers could not.

The cracks in the ice walls were large enough for the Aliens to fit their arms through, which some are doing in eagerness to breach the other side. Esdeath conjures another ice wall behind her. Then, she yells "Go! Now!"

Revving up the drill into spinning at high speed, Seryu dashes forward "Judgment of the Ten Heavenly Kings! Enma's Spear of Justice!" with her drill out in front, she plows through the weakened barrier and into the Alien horde on the other side. The drill bore through a multitude of Alien bodies, tearing them apart and knocking random limbs and torsos aside. Much of the acid blood sprayed onto the spinning drill, but the centrifugal force of its spin flicks a majority of the fluid away and reduces the dissolving effect. Koro followed closely behind her, keeping his arms close around her sides so as to absorb any stray drops of acid blood. Any acid that hits would burn his arms, which would in turn regenerate after the drops of acid lose their potency.

Seryu can see the tunnel's outlet, past the horde of Monsters in her way. Just in time to notice her drill was deteriorating near the point of uselessness. She presses a button and launches the drill forward as projectile. It blows past the Xenomorphs and detonates into a large explosion, clearing a straight path into another chamber at the end of the tunnel. Nearing their destination, Koro leaps in front of Seryu to absorb the last few splashes of acid blood. The acid threatens to completely dissolve his whole body, and his regenerative powers are having difficulty keeping up.

"Koro! Give me 2, 7, and 8! Hurry! Revert to your normal size, afterwards!" commanded Seryu, and Koro quickly engulfed her with his large mouth. A short moment later, he spits her out, and the auburn haired Jaeger emerged covered in heavy artillery. Two large square missile pods mounted on her back and aim over her shoulders. Two smaller flat pods hang underneath, beside her hips. Her right arm was replaced by a large anti tank rifle, and her left arm had a missile launcher attached. And finally, on her lower backside, the still functioning Justice City Detector was clamped on, in case of an emergency.

After giving Seryu her requested load out, the biological Imperial Arm shrinks to his normal small size in the hopes of escaping the acid's ravenous dissolving properties. The trick worked. As he shrunk and receded, much of his acid drenched body mass was shed and released from his main torso. By the time Koro reached his small size, his body was completely devoid of acid.

Seryu holds out her left arm, and Koro climbed on and clung to her side to avoid being in the way of all that weaponry. She looks behind her to see General Esdeath still a ways back down the corridor, busily constructing barricade after barricade of ice to hold back the other Monsters. The blue haired woman would rapidly step back every time a barrier was completed, and should reach the end of the tunnel shortly. "Come on, Koro. Let's make sure, the way ahead is clear." With her biological Imperial Arm straddled to her left side, Seryu calmly stepped into the chamber ahead.

The chamber was massive, easily three times as large as the first chamber the Jaegers went through, and had better lighting than the dark tunnel. The familiar radiance of daylight filtered down from alcoves, similar to the previous chamber. It was still difficult for Seryu to see, only because of the rising smoke coming from the burned carcasses of the Creatures that were caught in the explosion of her previously used drill weapon.

The auburn haired Jaeger swept her current weapons side to side, ready to blow apart anything that moved. But the only things moving, were some of the Aliens still alive and crawling around with too few limbs to pose any threat. Seryu ignored the heavily wounded Creatures, deciding not to finish them off since they were too close for her to safely use her weapons. If she acted carelessly, she might blow herself up. If the acid blood didn't get to her first. The Monsters stopped moving as they succumbed to their injuries.

"Justice is served." Seryu commented idly, as her usual bravado began to return. They were in a tight spot back in the tunnel, but Esdeath's quick thinking turned the battle around in their favor. "How's the area ahead of us, Seryu? Are we clear?" the General called out from within the tunnel. Her Subordinate turned back again and answered "Yes, Ma'am! At least for the time being. There's another chamber here! It looks empty!" Eager to confirm, the amber eyed Jaeger steps out of the slowly dissipating smoke cloud and deeper into the massive chamber.

"Don't go too far!" ordered Esdeath "I'm almost there!"

Seryu was just about to step back towards the tunnel outlet, but stopped when something caught her eye. Much of her view is clear to see, thanks to stepping out from the cover of smoke. And she can see that all around her, were a bunch of leathery oval pods.

"What are those?" wondered Seryu as she stood still and gazed at the pods which were slowly pulsating organically. Koro whined in confusion, while he remained clinging to her left side. He also didn't know the nature of these pods. A low sliding noise can be heard, coming from the center of the chamber. The Jaeger turned around to find the source of the noise, and both she and her biological Imperial Arm stared through the gloom.

They noticed a giant and long tubular shaft was hanging from the ceiling, held up by a webbing of the hardened slime. The shaft continued making its grotesque slithery sound as it produced another oval-shaped pod from its flappy opening. The ovipositor extended along the ceiling, becoming more swollen and bulged as it leads closer to its source. The distended shaft ended into the backside of a Gigantic Silhouette that hung suspended above the floor under the support of an organic lattice work of biomechanical struts. It looked like a giant statuesque black insect, perched on some unholy throne from another place that lies beyond nightmares. And It was starting to move.

Four arms unfolded from the main body, each were armed with razor sharp claws and crushing fingers. A long tail with a large deadly blade tip uncoiled behind It and rested on the egg sac. Large spikes ran along Its back and led up to a broad crested head. The head slowly swiveled in place, as It swept Its immediate surroundings. It stops when It set Its "gaze" upon Seryu and Koro. The auburn haired murderess and her biological Imperial Arm stood still, completely dumbstruck by the Creature's presence of terrible majesty. Both killers clung to each other, neither were sure of what they should do. The obvious choice was to attack, but Seryu's weapons remained on standby. In front of the Alien Queen's head, a large fanged mouth extended from beneath a protective slit and made a foreboding hiss.

Seryu was still stunned with disbelief at seeing the such a large Creature before her. Her body began moving without her consent, and started backing away from It. She wanted to stand her ground. To boldly declare this Monstrosity as Evil Incarnate. To zealously serve Justice, and render Judgment unto It. To simply bombard It with her impressive arsenal. Is she equipped with enough firepower anyway? Much of her confidence was smothered away by her newfound terror, but she quickly fought against her doubts. She is an Ally of Justice. Hers is a righteous cause. And this Monster and Its Brood are abominations that must be purged from existence, for the sake of a better world.

Seryu began to level her weapons and take aim. Her face started warping into a demented look. Behind her, something grabbed her by the shoulder.

"I told you, not to go too for ahead!" Esdeath said sternly as she placed a hand on her Subordinate's shoulder. She had just erected the last ice barrier and stepped out of the tunnel. She barely spotted Seryu a few meters away outside of the lingering smoke cloud, and walked up to her to see her staring at something. Only when the General stood next to the amber eyed young woman, did she see the Queen.

Esdeath was taken aback by the Alien Queen as It hissed again at seeing another intruder in Its midst. But, the General recovered fast when she clearly realized what was in front of her. This is probably the Leader of these Danger Beasts. And the Jaegers have incidentally sealed themselves inside the chamber alone with It. She dons a menacing grin "Seryu. Leave this one to me. Pretty soon, the other Horde will have broken through every last one of my barricades. When they do, I'll need you to focus on that tunnel as a bottleneck and hold Them off."

Seryu was about protest, but remained silent as she shivered and curdled with dread. Her Commander was radiating Killing Intent. The most that Esdeath has ever given off. The Alien Queen sensed it as well, so She parted Her jaws and sent off a loud piercing shriek. Both of the Jaegers in front of Her flinched at the sound's intensity, as it echoes throughout the chamber. Behind them, another sound can be heard. It was the loud banging and tearing sound of the other Aliens trying to break through the last ice barrier.

Seryu turned back towards the tunnel outlet and steadily aims. Koro jumps off of her and grows into a large growling beast. "Get ready Koro! I'll keep the Monsters at bay. Crush any, that manage to get through. Have Number 1 ready for me, just in case." ordered Seryu. Koro growled once more in understanding.

Esdeath steps closer to the Alien Queen, and conjures a sword of ice. A moment passed, while the two mass killers stared each other down. The General gazed at the Queen, her grin becoming more sinister "Come then. You should know what I plan to do. Climb down off that decrepit throne of yours, so that I may sit upon it in your place. I've come here to be entertained! Be a good host and attend to your guest!" she sends out another surge of Killing Intent, wanting to goad the Queen Xenomorph into attacking.

The Queen focus her senses and picks up on the Killing Intent. This Lifeform in front of Her, poses an extreme threat to Her and the Hive. Aside from the constant buzz of Killing Intent, the Queen's senses can read more of the Lifeform's twisted will. Esdeath's desire to Dominate, Slaughter, and Torment spun around her presence in foul noxious waves. The Queen's refined understanding of the will of Others, shows that Her adversary embodies an unholy cycle of Misery. A creature that relishes the act of killing for sport. For fun. The other Lifeform before her, with the small animal clinging to her side, had a similar disposition. Seryu's feelings were soured with her own self-serving Vindications. A rotten front to cover her arbitrary Malice and perverse Bloodlust, easily snuffed out by the adversity of the powerful. The Alien Queen lacks any emotional capacity to condemn these Lifeforms as amoral. In fact, It can understand well enough of the two Jaegers' desire to make Victims of Her and Her Brood, even when they'd likely become victims themselves to the Aliens. All the same. In the interest of the Queen's own self preservation, these Lifeforms must perish at all costs.

The Queen however, did not bother to move. Instead, She turns Her head around to face something behind Her. Esdeath looked on, as she sees another Creature stomp out from behind the Alien Queen and came around the right side.

It was big. Not as large as the Queen, but easily bigger than the other Aliens. It stood at 12 feet high, on four powerful cloven hooved legs. Its exoskeleton was an equal mixture of black and red. And Its elongated head was larger than average, with a pair of sharp horns protruding from the sides.

The Bull Alien bellowed Its challenge. _Roar!_ Its roar spreads throughout the chamber, with an intensity to match the Queen's shriek.

"I see, you've put forth your champion." Commented Esdeath "Let's see how long he lasts, so don't disappoint me!".

Over to where the tunnel outlet is, Seryu looks at her Commander with concern. Suddenly, a sound like shattering glass gets her attention and she sees the Alien Horde smashing through the last ice wall. Forgetting about Esdeath's confrontation, the auburn haired murderess aims her weapons at the immediate threat in front of her and screams "Justice Volley Fire!" She unleashes a barrage of missile and cannon fire upon the coming Horde. _Boom! Boom! Kaboom!_

The Bull Alien charged straight at Esdeath, who nimbly dodged sideways and swung her ice sword down on Its flanks. _Shink!_ The Crusher Xenomorph, quickly threw Its head sideways and parried the blow with Its large horns. The blue haired woman used the force of the parry to fling herself back into a somersault, and landed a certain distance away.

The Bull Alien rounded itself to face Esdeath. It scrapped Its cloven hooves against the floor, as It makes ready to charge again. The Jaegers' leader lightly waves her hand above her, and conjures thousands of ice javelins. All pointed towards the Crusher Xenomorph. "Plenty of space to use this properly. Weissschnabel!" with a flicking gesture of her hand, the General sends the ice javelins barreling towards the Horned Beast. The Bull Alien responds by launching Itself forward and charged straight at her, with the velocity of a locomotive.

The maelstrom of ice projectiles collided against the Crusher Xenomorph, and did nothing to stop Its advance. Esdeath stood there in observation. Studying with cold patience, as most of her ice javelins would smash against the Horned Beast's large reinforced head without so much as scratching Its smooth carapace. Her ice projectiles couldn't pierce the head, let alone damage It. However, she also notice some stray ones were able to stab into the Monster's sides. Random ice javelins stuck out along the Bull Alien's flanks, legs, and back. But, It didn't even slow down.

 _Kaboom!_ At the tunnel outlet, Seryu's bombardment of the Alien Horde continues. Countless Xenomorphs were blown apart by the array of missiles and cannon shots. The Horde kept pushing forward out of the tunnel, undaunted by the hellish barrage set forth by the fiendish auburn haired Jaeger. Her face was maniacally twisted with sadistic homicidal frenzy, as her artillery battery shelled out its payload. Any few Aliens that were able to slip past the barrage, would be snatched up by Koro and have their necks snapped and broken by the biological Imperial Arm's monster strength.

The Bull Alien reaches Esdeath's position and tries to ram her, but the General nimbly dodged again. The Crusher Xenomorph tried swiping at her feet with Its tail, and the blue haired woman cartwheels over the attack and away from harm. Using the momentum of Its tail swipe, the Bull Alien pivoted Its large body around and quickly slammed Its head down. _Bam!_. The floor around It began to shake.

The resulting quake threw Esdeath off balance. She topples to the floor, and into a vulnerable position. Her ice sword slipped from her hand, as she tried to break her fall. The Jaegers' leader looks up, in time to see the Horned Beast part Its jaws and stomp towards her.

"Why is this happening!? How can they keep up with my movements!? Why Can't I Read Theirs!?" the blue haired General's mind screamed for reasoning. All of her past opponents, be it Human or Danger Beast, can easily be sensed by their Killing Intent. But these Creatures are different. From the time the Jaegers entered Their Hive, to the here and now, she has not once picked up any trace of Their Killing Intent. "What the Hell does the mean? Either They're somehow able to conceal it, or that They lack a capacity to display shifts in emotions and feelings. Or is it not Killing Intent, to Them at all? Is the act of killing, a part of Their nature? Do They naturally exist to kill?" asked a troubled Esdeath as she struggles to get back on her feet, but quickly stumbles back. The Bull Alien was nearly on top of her, Its jaws parted and the inner jaws flexing in readiness.

Esdeath quickly placed her hand of the Crusher Xenomorph's outermost hoof, just as It shoots out Its secondary jaws and was frozen mid strike. The Bull Alien was immediately encased in ice, as the Jaegers' leader got back on her feet. Its inner jaw was barely a few inches from her face. She calmly backs away and conjures another ice sword. She brings the sword down and tries to slash Its sides, while It was still trapped in the ice.

Too late. The Bull Alien breaks out of the ice and threw Its head sideways to parry to attack once more. This time, the force of the blocked attacked knocked a surprised Esdeath a distance away. She recovers fast, and lands with grace. Luckily, the General was given much needed time to think, as the Horned Beast took a moment to shake the remaining shards of ice off Its body.

"The sides and back can be damaged. I just need It to stay still. Maybe if I use that…" Esdeath shakes her head "No. That's meant to be used as a final option. There are other things for me to try." With that, she thought up a new strategy. The Horned Beast continued to charge at her, and she waited. When It was halfway towards her, the blued haired woman placed both her hands on the ground and froze the floor around her. The Bull Alien loses traction on the icy terrain and slips off Its legs. It crashes along the ice floor in a stumbling heap.

Before the Crusher Xenomorph reached Esdeath's position, the General somersaults over It and lands on the ice using conjured ice cleats to maintain her traction and footing. As It attempts to maneuver on the slippery ice, the Bull Alien stumbles and rolls on its side. Esdeath hastily dashes at the Horned Beast, and makes ready to stab It in the center. Suddenly, the Crusher Xenomorph whips Its tail around and the Jaegers' leader dodged and retreated. She jumps back at a distance and stands ready. She didn't want to cut the tail and risk getting acid blood sprayed at her. She needs to make a single decisive hit. A killing blow, that can put It down quickly and with certainty. And Its prehensile tail is deliberately putting itself in front of her, to prevent that.

"It knows Its blood can harm me. But I still have the advantage. I've hampered Its offense, now I just have to get around Its defense." Esdeath thought. She raises her ice sword and waits for the Horned Beast to come at her again.

Seryu fires the last few missiles and ammo from her artillery load out, and surveys her handiwork. The tunnel outlet has collapsed as a result of her constant bombardment, effectively sealing away the remainder of the Horde from entering the chamber. Some of the Creatures are already trying to squeeze through any small openings. Namely the small gaps of the collapsed outlet, as well as a few holes in the chamber walls that were blown open by stray missiles and cannon shots.

"Koro! Number 1!" called out the auburn haired Jaeger. Her biological Imperial Arm engulfs her again, and she emerged without her artillery weapons. Instead, she came out with a regular mechanical left arm and a huge spiked flail for her right arm. One of Aliens was almost through one of the gaps, when Seryu steadily readies her weapon. Her face reverts back to a frenzied psychotic state "Shinkou's Ball of Justice!" she swings the spiked ball overhead and down onto the unsuspecting Xenomorph. She reels her weapon back to her, careful to make sure no acid drips onto her. In the place of impact, there was only a black and yellow smear.

Seryu studied the results of her attacks and figures out her weapon's capabilities. The acid blood left by the Monster was already eating away at the spike ball. But, the ball is very large and very dense. It will take time for the flail to completely disintegrate. Meanwhile, a few burned holes wouldn't make the spiked ball any less lethal.

Seryu looks forward and sees more Serpents have nearly slipped through the blockage. This time with reckless abandon, the amber eyed murderess swung the flail at her targets. She manages to smash a handful more of the Aliens, before They retreated and stood by near the gap openings. None of them dared to try and get through, since only a few would be able to squeeze through at a time. Such obstacles would prevent them from overwhelming the young woman and her monster Imperial Arm. The Horde focused Their senses and reached out to Their Queen for counsel.

Seryu patiently stood by and watched the openings with Koro by her side. Their vigilance was interrupted by two loud noises behind them. The both of them turned around and saw the Bull Alien roaring in frustration, as It tries to ram Esdeath unsuccessfully atop a floor layered with ice. The roar was then met with another piercing shriek, as the Queen sounds off Her rage. The auburn haired murderess turned to look at the Alien Queen and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "These Demons are obviously fighting to defend the Big One. Is It their leader? Why isn't It joining the battle?" she glances over at the Queen's egg sac "Its bound to that bloated apparatus. Is It a non combatant, because Its immobile?"

The Alien Queen shrieks again. Despite Its apparent fury, It refuses to move or attempt to physically assist Her Brood during the entire altercations. Seryu gazes at Esdeath, who tries to cut down the encumbered Bull Alien, but was parried a third time by the Crusher Xenomorph's horns. The amber eyed young woman looks back at the Queen and grins menacingly "Koro! Pulverize! Obliterate the Source of Evil!" she screams maniacally.

Koro raises his massive fists and began throwing a flurry of punches. He then dashes forward and heads straight for the Alien Queen. The Queen turns around to see the incoming assault from the biological Imperial Arm. She hisses threateningly as Koro halves the distance between them. He growls evilly, as he gnashes his sharp teeth and warps his eyes into a state of murderous frenzy. Suddenly, a large green blur drops down from the ceiling above and intercepts the biological Imperial Arm. It collides into his face with the force of a small comet, and throws him off course.

Seryu stares in surprise by the arrival of another Creature. This One is slightly bigger than the other Serpents, with a blackish green exoskeleton, bigger claws, longer tail blade, and an overall sleeker body.

 _Skreee!_ The Dog Alien rears up to full height as It stands atop a stunned Koro, and screeches in a feral predatory rage. Koro recovers and swings one of his large fist at the Runner Xenomorph. Only for the Dog Alien to effortlessly dodge the punch and scurry away from him

Koro stands up and growls at the Dog Alien as It backs away and positions Itself between the Alien Queen and the biological Imperial Arm. It wasn't going to let anything come near the Queen.

"Hang on, Koro! I'll come help you!" yelled Seryu. But, just when she was about to step away from her position, she sees more Aliens trying to get through the collapsed tunnel opening. She swings her flail again, but missed as the Creatures quickly withdrew back inside. The auburn haired murderess can't leave these Monsters alone, or They will come through the small gap openings, swarm into the chamber, and overwhelm Seryu, Koro, and Esdeath.

Seryu looks at the barely contained Horde, then over at Koro in frustration. The biological Imperial Arm makes another barrage of punches and dashes towards the Dog Alien. The Runner Xenomorph dashes in turn and goes for Koro's side. _Whip!_ With Its long bladed tail and at a speed the biological Imperial Arm could not react to, the Dog Alien quickly wraps the tail around Koro's legs and trips him. Koro falls forward and before he can get back up, the Dog Alien hops on his back, shoots Its inner jaw into the back of his neck, and impales the center of his back with Its tail blade for good measure.

It had no effect. Koro reaches behind him and grabs the Runner Xenomorph. The biological Imperial Arm holds the Dog Alien out in front in front of him and reaches for Its head with his other hand to break Its neck. "Yes, Koro! Pull Its head off!" cheered a sadistic Seryu. The Dog Alien spits acid at Koro's face and the glob of yellow fluid sprays into his eyes and snout. With a roar, Koro drops the Runner Xenomorph and quickly tries to wipe the acid off his face.

"No! Koro!" screamed Seryu, as she watches the fight helplessly from where she stood. Koro may be stronger and extremely more resilient, but the Dog Alien is faster and much more cunning. The amber eyed Jaeger desperately wanted to come to Koro's aid, but whenever she so much as look to see the biological Imperial Arm and Runner Xenomorph clash, the other Aliens would try to creep through the blockade and then get driven back as she swings her spiked ball and chain at Them. She steals a quick glance at Koro, and sees the Dog Alien streak towards him and pounces forward with Its tail blade whipping towards his head while he's still trying to regenerate his face. Seryu then screams "Koro! Berserk Mode!"

Suddenly, Koro grew bigger, more muscular, his white fur becomes red, and his eyes quickly regenerate and warps into a more insanely frenzied state. Parting his jaws to the point where his cheeks threatened to tear apart, Koro unleashes a bellowing roar that shook the entire Hive. Everybody within the chamber felt its effects. The Dog Alien was blasted away by the sheer force. Esdeath nearly risks a glance to see what it was, but assumes it was Koro and she goes back to concentrating on defeating the Bull Alien. Seryu makes an evil grin, after having Koro use his Trump Card. And the Alien Queen shrieks again in response to Koro's roar blast.

Oddly though. The Hive of Xenomorphs held still. The Bull Alien stands still above the slippery ice floor, and stops trying to charge at Esdeath. The blue haired General stands ready with her ice sword, waiting to see what the Crusher Xenomorph plans to do next. The Dog Alien nimbly lands on Its legs after being blown away by Koro. The biological Imperial Arm was standing by, as he recuperated from performing that last attack. Seryu was watching the Runner Xenomorph with warped psychotic eyes. Her mouth was open, and the barrel of a hidden gun extended out in preparation to shoot while she took aim. Behind her, the Alien Horde remains still and stops trying to get into the chamber. _Shreee!_ The Alien Queen sends out another shriek. Then all Hell breaks loose.

The Bull Alien slams Its head down hard against the ice floor and the entire icy terrain shatters apart. Esdeath trips once again when the ice suddenly breaks beneath her feet and takes her unawares. The Jaegers' leader falls back down on the floor, and the Crusher Xenomorph charges once more.

Esdeath struggled to stand back up, but the Bull Alien was already closing in. It lowers Its head and makes ready to ram Its horns into the blue haired woman. She conjures ice and puts up every form of defense and obstacle between the Crusher Xenomorph and herself. Ice began to form and grow out of the floor in various shapes, from giant spikes to solid walls. And the Bull Alien came crashing through each and every one of her defenses, but It hardly slows down. "Dammit! There's no other way. I'll have to use that…" Esdeath focuses her abilities and calls out her Trump Card "Mahapadma!"

And nothing happened. The Bull Alien kept charging towards her. The Alien Queen made another foreboding hiss. The Dog Alien stalked towards Koro, who was mysteriously standing still. Off to their side, a flying bullet was held in place by an unseen force, as it followed its trajectory leading towards the Runner Xenomorph's vacant position. Seryu was also standing still, with a frozen muzzle flash shining out the barrel of her mouth gun. Behind her, the Alien Horde resumed sending Xenomorphs through the gap openings with renewed determination.

The Bull Alien was almost on top of her, when Esdeath realized her carefully developed Trump Card failed to stop It. Before the Crusher Xenomorph can gore her, the General placed her hand on the ground and concentrated. A large pillar of ice shot out immediately beneath her and carried her high up. Her perch of safety was already crumbling down, as the Bull Alien smashed through. But she was counting on this opportunity. Using the crushed ice around them, she concentrated and ice spikes sprouted towards the Horned Beast. It lowers and directs Its reinforced head to receive the assault, leaving Its neck exposed. Summoning a large ice axe into her hands, the Jaegers' leader raises the axe above her head as she rapidly descended from above.

With cold fury and a diabolical grin, Esdeath brings the axe down on the Bull Alien's vulnerable neck. The ice axe chopped through with a clean cut, and severed the Crusher Xenomorph's head. The head rolled forward, leaving the main body toppled to the side. The Horned Beast was dead, and Esdeath landed and jumped aside to avoid the acid blood from spraying all over her. She stands straight, looks at the body, and smirks with satisfaction after finally killing her quarry. She glimpsed at Seryu and Koro, and her grin fades away as she sees the blunder her Trump Card had perpetrated. Both Koro and Seryu have barely started to move again, as Mahapadma's effect wore off.

By then, disaster had struck. The Dog Alien was already perched atop Koro's head and before the biological Imperial Arm realized what's happening, the Runner Xenomorph stabbed Its tail blade into his head with surgical precision. _Shluck!_ The tail blade ran straight through the back of Koro's head and out the other side. Sticking out of the tail blade's tip, was a red colored orb. Koro's face became lax and his large hulking body began to degrade and dissipate into a cloud of steam and smoke. When it all cleared, only the Dog Alien remained where he stood.

When Seryu regained her ability to move and become aware of her surroundings, she had just seen the Dog Alien remove the core from Koro's body and neutralized him. "What Happened!? Koro!" she screamed, horrified at having seen her biological Imperial Arm defeated. The Dog Alien whisked Its bladed tail, and the red orb flew off the tail blade and rolled along the floor to the side. The Runner Xenomorph threw back Its head and screeched Its victory.

Seryu's stared with a look of pure hatred "You, Son of a Bitch! I'll fucking kill you for that!" she tugs at her spiked ball, and it refused to budge as if caught on something. The auburn haired murderess turned back to find out the problem, and her thoughts of Koro and the Dog Alien vanished. A pack of Aliens have managed to slip through the collapsed tunnel and have restrained Seryu's weapon by the chain attached to her arm. A few Xenomorphs lunged at her and she quickly uncoupled the weapon off her arm, and stumbled back. The Serpents were beginning to close in on her as she continued to back away. Before the Creatures could attack the amber eyed Jaeger, Esdeath's voice rang out through the chamber "Seryu, Duck!"

Obediently reacting to her Leader's command, Seryu drops down flat against the floor and a giant ball of ice came sailing over her and smash into the pack of Monsters. At the same time, Esdeath calls out the name of her technique "Hagelsprung!"

The ice ball lands on top of the pack of Aliens and crushes them. Afterwards, the giant ice ball rolls forward and crashes into the collapsed tunnel outlet, effectively trapping the remnants of the Alien horde for the time being.

Esdeath grinned sadistically, as she turns to face the Queen and the Dog Alien before her "Your Steed is dead. Your Army is outmaneuvered. And only your Knight stands between me and you." she manifests another ice sword in her hand "Your kind has proven to be strong. I had so much fun, because of it." In front of the General, the Queen makes another foreboding hiss. "You're not Danger Beasts, are you? I've never seen your kind before, and I've killed plenty of different Creatures." she threateningly points her sword at the Alien Queen, and the Dog Alien puts Itself between them.

"But now, we'll see who's going to come away from this as the victor." Continues Esdeath "I'd normally offer you a chance to join me, and fight by my side. But your kind are savage and unreasonable. Or, am I wrong? Are you more intelligent and understanding, than you look? Can you be afraid? Can you beg for mercy, and plead for your life? If so, grovel before me, and lay your heads at my feet!" the Queens lets out another shriek and the Dog Alien snarled. The Jaegers' leader smiled excitedly "You're right. Surrender, is a tool for the weak. And your kind are certainly not weak."

Off to the side, Seryu reattached her Justice City Detector arm, walks towards Koro's core and picks it up to examine the damage. The core has a deep gash on the surface, but it remains mostly intact. "Koro…I'm sorry." Whispered Seryu as tears begin to pour from her eyes. She clasps the red orb close to her chest, and backed away from the center of the chamber where her Commander and the Creatures are having a major standoff. As much as the young woman wanted to help Esdeath, she knew she'd only be in the way. Most of Seryu's weaponry have been expended and she no longer has Koro to fight at her side. She kneels down and stays low to avoid notice, as she silently prays for Esdeath's victory.

The Dog Alien darted forward at nearly the speed of a bullet. Esdeath reacted fast and hurled ice javelins at It. The Runner Xenomorph veered around the coming barrage and came at the General's side. It tried to swipe Its claws at her, but the blue haired woman parried the blow with her sword. The claw swipe hit the ice sword with enough force to break off the blade. The Dog Alien followed the initial attack with another claw swipe, but was parried once more when Esdeath regrew the frigid blade of her sword to absorb the hit. The icy blade held this time and the two combatants stood deadlocked.

The deadlock quickly went in the Runner Xenomorph's favor, as It's Alien strength overpowered the Jaegers' leader and started to force her to her knees. Esdeath quickly concentrates and hastily creates ice braces for her knees, elbows, and wrists to help resist Its overwhelming strength. With both of the blue haired woman's arms occupied in holding off the Dog Alien's claws, It tries to inch Its mouth closer to Esdeath and strike at her face with Its inner jaws. She jerks her head sideways to avoid the snap of the secondary jaws, then she sucks in a breath and blows out freezing air at the Dog Alien's face. Ice began form around Its mouth and encased it into a makeshift muzzle. Surprised by this new move the Runner Xenomorph swung Its bladed tail around and tried to stab the blue haired woman. She reacts in time, and conjures ice armor along her targeted side. The ice stopped the tail blade from piercing her body, but the force of the blow knocked her aside and sent her tumbling to the ground.

Using acid secreted from Its mouth, the Dog Alien dissolves the ice muzzle and screeched in annoyance. It turns back over to Esdeath and sees her trying to get back on her feet while nursing a certainly bruised area on the side of her body. It surged forward and came at her for another assault. The General tries to buy time by conjuring more ice obstacles between them, the same way as she did against the charging Bull Alien before. Luckily, the Runner Xenomorph lacks Its Crusher counterpart's brutish ability to plow through the ice, and has to dodge and weave Its way through.

Esdeath stands back up "Alright, that's working. Now, let's try this!" she places her hands on the ground and created another ice floor. The Dog Alien cleared the last ice obstacles and found Itself on icy terrain. It was unable to slip though, thanks to Its clawed hands and feet. It can easily grip and move on ice, as It would the walls and ceiling. But, the blue haired woman wasn't counting on the Runner Xenomorph to slip around. She had something else in mind.

With a gesture of her hands, Esdeath conjures ice spikes to sprout from the ice floor and attempted to skewer her foe. The Dog Alien dashed sideways and dodged left and right as It keenly reacted to Esdeath's attack. It ran ahead of the spikes and tried to rush the General. With an evil grin, Esdeath anticipated the Runner Xenomorph's direction and conjured another spike to intercept. The cluster of spikes shot out from the ice floor and into Its body, only for It to suddenly vanish in plain sight.

Esdeath couldn't believe her eyes "Where the Hell did it go!?" she growled. From the other end of the chamber, Seryu screamed at her "Ma'am! Above you!". The Jaegers' leader look up and spotted the Dog Alien crawling along the ceiling. "How did It get up there?" she wondered, but her answer already came to her "An After Image" she realized "I hit an After Image, while It went somewhere else" then another realization hit her "After Image is an innate skill, used by only by a very few species of Danger Beasts. And one of them was the Blitz Hound"

Esdeath kept her gaze up at the Dog Alien as It slowly stalked along the ceiling towards her. She summoned an ice arrow and shot it at the Runner Xenomorph, and sure enough It disappeared as the arrow passed through it and It was instantly at a different area on the ceiling. "How is It able to copy the Blitz Hound's ability to use After Image? Just what the Hell are these Creatures!?" she muttered.

The General stood ready and kept a close eye on the Dog Alien in anticipation for Its next move. Then, Seryu screamed at her again "Watch Out!". Esdeath quickly raised an ice wall beside her, right before a torrent of yellow fluid nearly washed over her. _Splash! Sszzzt!_ The ice wall held off the tremendous flow of acid. But, with the density of the acid still streaming the wall at high pressure, a small spouting hole instantly came through the ice and spurts at Esdeath. _Spurt! Sszzzt!_ She jumps back quickly to evade, but wasn't fast enough to keep a few drops from splashing onto the sleeve of her uniform. Without thinking twice, the blue haired woman froze the top of her white uniform with ice and shattered it off her body, leaving her with nothing but a tight fitting white bra to cover her large voluptuous breasts. The shards of her ruined uniform top clattered to the floor, taking the acid with it and leaving Esdeath unharmed. The Jaegers' leader looked towards where the acid stream's trajectory originated from, and sees that the attacker was the Alien Queen. Yellow acid was dripping from the Queen's open jaws. From the other side of the chamber, Seryu was screaming furiously "You Despicable Coward! How dare you attack someone with their back facing towards You!"

Esdeath turned to focus back on the Dog Alien, but she noticed the Queen's acid spit washed over and melted almost all of her ice terrain and puddles of acid flowed dangerously close, forcing her to tread carefully. Realizing she's just been distracted, Esdeath quickly braced herself, raised her ice sword, and managed to block a charging Runner Xenomorph from tackling straight into her. As It reentered deadlock with the General, the Dog Alien use the momentous force of Its blocked tackle to whip Its tail blade around and struck at Esdeath's side, much harder this time. She frantically conjures more ice to absorb the strike, and was knocked to the side once more.

Esdeath fell to the floor with the wind knocked out of her. That last blow hit hard, at an already bruised side of her body, and most definitely cracked a rib. The pain that accompanied her every breath was nearly unbearable, and she felt like everything around her had gone quiet. But, she was still able to hear Seryu cry out in panic "General Esdeath!"

Esdeath continued to lay down on the ground, as two ideas formed in her head. One, was a way to help with her injury as she thought back on that Imperial Soldier whose wound she helped by freezing with ice to keep him from bleeding out. Concentrating and turning her focus inward, the General conjured ice within her body and formed a cast around her fractured rib. The pain receded to being tolerable and breathing became less difficult. Her second idea, was how to use her vulnerable position against her Enemy.

Still lying on the floor, Esdeath made a slight turn of her head to see the Dog Alien stalk towards her cautiously. "Good" she thought "It's alert. All I need to do now, is to spook It." She looks out past the Runner Xenomorph and spied the last bits of ice that the Queen's acid hasn't dissolved yet.

Using one hand, Esdeath made a very subtle gesture, and with the other she makes a snap of her fingers. Spikes shot out from the last bits of ice near the Dog Alien and tried to skewer into Its body. The Jaegers' leader was already searching the ceiling, and managed to spot the Runner Xenomorph after It used Its After Image ability to escape onto the ceiling.

Esdeath laid very still, as she watched the Dog Alien crawl along the ceiling until It was directly above her. With an angry screech, the Dog Alien dropped off from the ceiling and plummeted towards Esdeath with Its claws held out, tail blade poised, and inner jaws wound back to eviscerate the seemingly injured blue haired woman. And she dared not chuckle, grin, or smirk as the Runner Xenomorph fell into Esdeath's trap.

Rolling to the side with all her might, Esdeath screamed out "Grauhorn!" and a horn of ice shot out from the floor where she once laid. The large single spike of ice impaled squared center into the body of the incoming Dog Alien. And It squealed in pain loud enough to match the Queen's raging shriek that followed.

Esdeath slowly stood up and stepped closer to view her handiwork. The Grauhorn's ice spike ran right through the Dog Alien's midsection, keeping it aloft for a time until Its acid blood melted the ice and let It drop to the ground in a crumbling heap. At this point, the Runner Xenomorph's fate is sealed. Its injury was too critical to ignore or overcome. Acid blood and entrails began to come out of the gaping hole in Its gut.

Esdeath's sadistic smile returns to her face as she walks past the dying Serpent, and towards the Queen.

"All Right! Way to go, Commander!" Cheered Seryu "I knew you'd win! Justice always prevails-" _Squelch!_ A loud sound of something being torn apart, rang out for all within the chamber to hear.

Both Jaegers looked on in surprise, as the Alien Queen tore herself free from the confines of her egg sac and stepped down off Her throne in a resounding thud.

The Queen Xenomorph rears up to her full height, and stood at an impressive if not intimidating three stories high. The Lifeform in front of Her stood ready with an ice sword in hand and waiting for Her first move. This Lifeform reminded the Queen of the Other One that approached and attacked Her, back on Her former planet. Both of them possess determination, resourcefulness, and a savage desire to survive. The difference is, while the previous Lifeform had a sense to flee, this Lifeform persisted to stay and prod Her with that insufferable wave of Killing Intent.

So, for once the Alien Queen has decided to extend Her senses out to Esdeath and convey Her Response. With the sensation of a dam being blown apart, the Queen's unfathomable Rage, pervasive Will, and even her ancient Hereditary Understanding of the Cosmic Void, poured over Esdeath's smaller mind and enveloped her feelings with Dread, Humility, and Blindness.

Esdeath gasped for air and clutched her head, as strange feelings enveloped her mind and incomprehensible images flashed before her sapphire blue eyes. ("Smothering Darkness, Fresh Flowing Blood, Warping Flesh, A Desolate Planet, A Blinding Flash of Light that can sear a naked eye, and finally an Empty Void of Nothingness.") The Images would cycle together and begin anew, in a rotating pattern. Esdeath screamed for It to stop, but couldn't even hear herself. A stiff uncomfortable buzzing sounded in her ears, and an overwhelming sense of wrongness covered her senses. As if a taint had polluted every inch of her porcelain white skin. If the General could ever describe what this experience feels like, she would imagine this is what it felt like to be raped.

The Alien Queen withdrew Her senses, and pulled away Her Feelings from the Lifeform. Esdeath stood there quivering, as the effects of the Queen's ultra sensory perception continued to linger within the blue haired woman's mind. Still reeling, Esdeath is now vulnerable and the Queen made ready to charge and attack. But, something drew her attention, and She opened up Her senses again.

The Dog Alien was still barely alive, but was slipping away fast, as It used Its bond through the Queen's Hive Mind to communicate with the Alien Queen. The Runner Xenomorph reached out to the Queen with Its dwindling senses and through their shared bond, conveyed Its will to Her, "FLEE…ESCAPE…SURVIVE!".

The Queen paused for a moment. She then quelled Her rage and canceled Her attack, as a certain reasoning flowed through her senses. She is the Matriarch of Her species. A means for Her kind to expand and grow. If She were to fight such an extremely dangerous opponent, the future of her species would be in jeopardy. And If she were to die, the Aliens would be that much closer to extinction. Her Progeny's message rings true. The risks are too many and the stakes are too high. Retreat is necessary.

Resolving to withdraw from battle and flee the Hive, the Alien Queen spreads Her senses out to the entire Brood, and orders a full retreat. She then turns around and stomps towards the far end of the chamber, leaving behind Esdeath as the Jaegers' leader overcomes and recovers from her state of shock. The Queen reaches the wall at the other side of the chamber, and battered it with Her large crested head. The Hive wall nearly buckled from the impact, leaving large cracks through which daylight pierced the gloom. The Queen prepared another ramming motion, but stops and "looks" behind Her.

She sees Esdeath standing near the abandoned egg sac, conjuring another giant ice ball. "I won't let you get away from Me! Hagelsprung!" cruel fury flashed in blue haired woman's eyes as she sends the ice ball towards the Queen.

The General then immediately creates an ice wall beside her, right before another stream of acid nearly splashed onto her. Esdeath studied the trajectory of the acid flow, and figured out where It was coming from, as she glared angrily in the direction where the Dog Alien lay dying. The Dog Alien kept up Its acid spit attack with every last bit of Its strength. After expelling the very last drop of acid from Its body, the Runner Xenomorph quietly laid Its head down and the rest of Its damaged body remained still. It was Dead.

Esdeath backed away from her acid drenched defense and resumed looking at the giant ball of ice, that she hurled at the Alien Queen. The ice ball was nearly upon the Queen's position, until it began to lose momentum when Esdeath broke off her concentration of controlling it's trajectory, to fend of the Dog Alien's final attack. This allowed the Queen to spread out all four of her arms to catch the ice ball and hold it away from Her with all Her strength. The massive ice ball threatened to plow Her under, as She struggled to push it back. Summoning up all Her Rage again, the Queen Xenomorph held the giant ice ball steady, and used her long tail to batter away the ice to the sound of a thunder clap. _Crack!_

The giant ball of ice instantly sailed away from the Alien Queen and headed back to where Esdeath stood.

"Shit!" Esdeath quickly held out her hands and concentrated on regaining control of her ice projectile. The ice ball started to slow down, but she wasn't going to be able to stop it time to keep it from crushing her.

 _Crash!_ Suddenly, the domed ceiling of the Hive chamber collapsed inward, as a very large winged creature broke through. The Bird Wyvern has come smashing its way through the ceiling. On top of the flying Danger Beast, rode Wave and Kurome.

"Heads, Up!" yelled Wave, as the Bird Wyvern shot a fireball from its mouth towards the ice ball to help slow it down. With its large talons, the flying Danger Beast landed on top of the ball of ice, forced it to the ground, and crushed it beneath its weight.

Esdeath fell to her knees, in awe that her life has been saved by Wave's and the Bird Wyvern's intervention. The flying Danger Beast lands in front of her, and Wave jumps off its back to greet the bewildered General. "I'm glad, we made it in time!" declared the grinning sailor Jaeger as he beamed with pride.

Esdeath tore her gaze away from her newly arrived Subordinates, and quickly searched through another fresh opening at the other end of the chamber. And she growled angrily, as she caught the last glimpse of the Queen's tail blade disappear into the thick trees of the vast forest outside the Hive.

The Alien Queen has escaped, leaving the Jaegers and the Hive behind.

 **Revolutionary Army Main Base, South of the Empire**

"Here you are, Ripley. It's fueled up, and ready to go." Declared a proud Mine, as she presented Ripley with the Flamethrower/Pulse-rifle weapon. The former Warrant Officer was busy brushing the last few strands of Newt's unruly blonde hair, after they had finished taking a bath. Ripley looks up from a impatiently sitting Newt on her lap, and glares skeptically at Mine. She then releases Newt, stands up off her bed, and takes back her weapon.

"Well, a Deal's a Deal." said Ripley as she closely examines her Flamethrower. She holds it out to Mine and offers it back "Go ahead. Try it out and see if it works."

Sweat began to form in the back of Mine's head. "Wait! I thought the agreement, was to let me use it on a practice range when I refueled the flamethrower!? I didn't agree to test it out and see if it might actually work!" argued the pink haired gunner. Ripley gives her a questioning glance "But, Mine. I thought you have just said, that it was refueled and ready to go?"

"She's got you there, Mine." Concurred a smugly grinning Lubbock, who was standing nearby and listening in on the conversation. Mine turns to her green haired comrade and throws him a spiteful look "I could always try it on you, Pervert!" Tatsumi placed himself between his fellow teammates "Come on, you two. Mine, I'm sure, it'll work just fine. I'll be there to back you up if need be." The genius sniper was about to retort back with a snarky remark, but she recalled her promise with Newt and decided to make an annoyed look. "Well, fine. I'll prove to all of you, that I know what I'm doing"

Mine slings the weapon over her shoulder and storms out of Night Raid's barracks, towards the firing range. Ripley, Tatsumi, Lubbock, and Newt followed, while the barracks remaining occupants Chelsea and Leone stayed behind with the former brushing her own hair and the latter was gathering her toiletries in preparation for her turn to use the bathhouse. Najenda was elsewhere on base, arranging for Night Raid's departure to their next mission, and has Susanoo accompanying her. Akame is in the mess hall, looking for food.

Mine and the others reached the firing range and readied themselves for weapons testing. "Here, Mine. Use this." Said Lubbock as he held out his goggles to her "They're highly durable, and should give you some protection." The pink clad assassin makes a scowl "Great. If something goes wrong, my charred body will at least be left with a fresh pair of eyes." She says sarcastically.

Not wanting to be snubbed, Lubbock owns up to the accusation "It'll be a whole lot of fun for me if I can see that look of dumbstruck terror, perfectly preserved when you're scorched!" He holds up his Cross Tails glove mischievously "I have fireproof threads on hand. What say, I weave a protective mantle for you to wear instead. Mind you, that you'll have to wear only this. So you won't catch fire from a random piece of clothing." Mine turns to him, ready to spew more venomous remarks. Only to have Ripley step between them this time.

"That's enough, you two! Quit bickering. I'll be the one to assist Mine, along with Tatsumi." Ripley elbows Lubbock away, and beckons for Tatsumi to come close. She then turns to Mine to give instructions. "Okay, Mine. First thing we'll do, is decouple these two guns away from each other." She unwinds the tape that held the flamethrower and pulse rifle together. Then, she cradles the pulse rifle in one arm, leaving Mine with the flamethrower.

"If something goes wrong, I don't want to lose both guns in the process." The former Warrant Officer explains. Using her one free hand, Ripley guides Mine into properly wielding the flamethrower "The first thing you do is prime the igniter. It's the switch at the front of the fuel tank. Then you're ready to pull the trigger. You have 30 meters of effective range. To get to 50 meters, tilt the nozzle upwards and arc the flame." She gazes down the firing range.

Across the range, sat multiple practice dummies in various shapes and sizes. Most were wooden, with the shape of an averaged sized man. Some of them wore pieces of armor. And there were even a few tied to pulley ropes to become moving targets. Bull's eyes were painted on all their chest areas and heads.

Ripley selects the closest target and turns to Mine "Alright, Mine. Do you see that target there? It's about 15 meters away from us. That's half your range. Squeeze the trigger and hold it down until the flame reaches the target. When it does, let go of the trigger and stop the blast. Try to keep the flame on your target range, and don't let it shoot farther. You'll save fuel, that way."

Mine was listening intently to the instructions, and gave a nod to show she understood. Ripley gestured for Tatsumi to come closer "Tatsumi. I assume that armor of yours, is heat resistant?" The green eyed fighter transforms into Incursio's armor form, and gives a thumbs up. "Fantastic. Are your reflexes fast?" Tatsumi takes a moment to consider the query before nodding "I'm not as fast as Akame. But I'm no slouch either." The former Warrant Officer recalls seeing Akame's speed from when they confronted back at Hadley's Hope and Newt was taken hostage, and again when the crimson eyed assassin kicked a burning Alien off the Air Manta. "If you're even half as fast as Akame, that's good enough for me." She assured.

Ripley stepped up to Tatsumi and guided him towards standing behind Mine. She then instructs him to place one hand on the flamethrower and the other around Mine's waist. Mine began to blush at the intimacy of their pairing. But, she can understand why the two of them were arranged this way. "There" Ripley spoke "Stand ready, you two. If the flamethrower malfunctions or threaten to burn Mine, Tatsumi will disarm her and pull her to safety." Tatsumi nods once more in understanding. Suddenly, Mine takes her hand off the flamethrower and holds it out "Wait!" she holds her hand out to Lubbock, who gingerly hands her his goggles. The genius sniper puts the goggles on and nods in readiness.

Ripley stands back at a safe distance and calls out "Okay, First Step! Mine, start the igniter." Mine reaches the switch with her fingers and carefully activates it. In a low burning hiss, the flamethrower's igniter sparks to life, revealing a small blue flame at the front of the nozzle. The pink haired sharpshooter exhales a sigh of relief "So far, so good." She murmured. Behind her, she can hear Tatsumi exhale a similar sigh of relief within his helmet. Thankfully, the mask of his helmet prevented him from breathing straight onto Mine's delicate neck, or else she would have gotten goosebumps.

Mine also noticed the white and silver armored fighter has his tensed arm squeezing a little too tight on Mine's thin waist. She shook and squirmed for him to loosen up, and he relaxed. Afterwards, she took a deep breath and sighted the flamethrower towards the target dummy. But, it was hard to do so, as her hand was shaking uncontrollably. Tatsumi places his own hand on it and held it steady "It's okay." He said reassuringly "I'm here for you. Trust me."

Mine blushed even redder and felt embarrassed, but quickly got over it and responded "Tatsumi. Firing in 3…2…1…-" _Fwooosh!_ she squeezes the trigger and with a hellish roar, a jet of bright blue flames shot out from the flamethrower's nozzle and blazed forth, across the range, and towards the target. The wooden dummy was turned to ash, the instant the blue flames came into contact.

Mine let go of the trigger, and the flames receded as the stream of fuel was cut off at the source. Confident with the flamethrower's successful test, the genius sniper hastily selects an new target, and unleashes another stream of azure flames. People from all around the base gathered at the sound of roaring flames, to see what was happening. Revolutionary Army personnel and soldiers talked and murmured amongst themselves as they bore witness to the inferno displayed before them. After Mine vaporized a few more dummies, she selected one further away and torched it using the arcing trick, Ripley taught her. She quickly got bored with burning wooden targets, and decided to go for some armored ones. The pink clad gunner sent out another jet of blue flames, and watched as one of the armored dummies was reduced to a couple of pieces of molten slag. Not even armored individuals can stand against the flamethrower's overwhelming fire.

Satisfied with the flamethrower's performance, Mine switched off the igniter and looked around her in surprise at having drawn a large crowd of onlookers. Everyone around gave a look of awe. Even Ripley seemed impressed with the weapon's testing outcome. She walks up to Mine and claps a hand of her shoulders in congratulations "Well, it looks like you've managed to pull it off." She makes a pleased grin "Though it seems to have worked out too well." Mine makes a confused look and asks "What do you mean?"

The former Warrant Officer glances over at the ashes of destroyed targets, and answers "Well, first off. The flamethrower flames were originally supposed to be orange and red in color. And targets used to take three times as long, to burn up completely. I'd say you've completely given this incinerator a massive upgrade." Mine quickly beam with pride, as she waved a hand in front of her nonchalantly "What else could you expect from a Genius Sniper like me?" she holds the back of her hand up to her cheek, and gave a wicked cackle. Ripley crossed her arms and waited patiently for the genius sniper to finish stroking her own ego.

When the pink haired assassin finished, Ripley asked "Can you tell me, what exactly did you use for the substitute fuel?" Mine fidgeted and scratched her nose as she began explaining "It's mostly Wyvern Venom. We keep such Danger Beasts stabled here at the Base, and extract the venom from their glands, giving us a nearly infinite supply. The problem is its low combustion rating. It would take a tremendous amount of heat to light it, or in the Wyvern's case, it's own saliva to get a chemical reaction burn. So we mix it with Sulfur in proper proportions. The resulting compound is an abundant fuel source, that burns with a high intensity, and at a low consumption rate." Mine shows Ripley the fuel gauge to the flamethrower, and sure enough the indicator still remains at the full mark. The entirety of the flamethrower's test had used only a fraction of the substitute fuel. She also added "Getting that fuel into the tank was the hard part. Doctor had to craft a special valve from scratch, using Imperial Arm, Perfector"

"Pretty neat." Said Ripley. She takes hold of the flamethrower, and pulls it away front Mine's reluctant hands. The former Warrant Officer then offers her the pulse-rifle "Let's see how you handle a new definition to the word, Firepower." Mine's eyes lit up in excitement, as she eagerly accepts the pulse-rifle.

Ripley waves Tatsumi away, as she takes his place behind Mine and goes over the pulse-rifle's instructions with her "Okay. First, check the ammo counter. It's the red numbers, on the side of the gun." Mine does as Ripley instructed, and turned the weapon over on its side "The number's 10. Ten rounds?" The former Warrant Officer nods in confirmation "That's enough for about three short bursts. So go ahead and select a target, aim your sights, and lightly squeeze the trigger." The pink haired sharpshooter earnestly shouldered the pulse-rifle, and prepared to fire on a dummy. Then Ripley hastily added "Now, it will kick some. So, be sure to lean into it."

Nodding in understanding, Mine lightly squeezed the trigger and shot out a small burst from the pulse-rifle. _Rata-ta-ta!_ One of the remaining target dummies was instantly blown to pieces, amidst the sharp crackling of muzzle flashes and the loud snap of pulse shots. All around the firing range, many members of the Revolutionary Army gasped and gazed in wonder and awe as they witnessed the destructive yet subtle performance of the state of the art weapon system that is the M41A Pulse Rifle.

Among the excitedly murmuring crowd, a curious Najenda and Susanoo elbowed their way through with an equally curious Akame following behind. They looked on towards Mine and Ripley, as the former aimed the pulse-rifle again and blew apart another wooden dummy.

Mine was already getting the hang of using the pulse-rifle, as she selects an armored dummy and blew it apart as well, with the last remaining burst shot. She checks the ammo counter again, to make sure there weren't any bullets left. After reading the double zeroes on the counter, she turns to Ripley for further instructions. "It seems, it's time to reload." Said Ripley, as she takes a spare pulse-rifle clip out of her pocket and placed it in Mine's hand "Press the latch behind the ammo counter, and push it all the way up." Mine does what she's told, and the empty magazine fell free from the gun and clattered to the ground. She then takes the full magazine, and slaps it in hard. _Click!_ The 00 on the ammo counter quickly changed into 99. "Now, you're ready to Rock and Roll." Concluded Ripley.

Mine looks down at the bottom front of the pulse-rifle "So, tell me about this one." Ripley shrugs "Oh, that's the grenade launcher. I don't think, you wanna mess with that." She says teasingly. The genius sniper makes a cocky remark "I started this. Show me everything. I can handle myself." The older woman makes a grin and answers "Yeah. I've noticed." She recalls Mine's prowess with the Imperial Arm, Pumpkin and how the young member of Night Raid almost singlehandedly held off an entire swarm of Aliens.

Without further delay, Ripley digs into her pockets and takes out a couple of grenade shells "Here. Take these and load them into the grenade launcher, like you would a shotgun." Mine gives her a questioning stare "What's a shotgun?" Patiently deciding not to explain the concept of modern day firearms, Ripley instead asked Mine to lend her the pulse-rifle, and they temporarily swapped weapons. "The shells go underneath the barrel, and through the loading port. Like, so." She begins feeding the shells through the loading port, and into the magazine tube "The magazine tube can carry a max amount of four shells. Four shots plus one in the barrel, are all this launcher can hold. So be very selective and strategic with your shots." Mine nods and eyes the grenade launcher thoughtfully. The former Warrant Officer hefts the pulse-rifle steadily, and works the pump action to chamber a round. The pink haired sharpshooter felt her stomach tingle with excitement, after hearing the cock and lock of the pump.

"This is the pump action." Explained Ripley "You pull it back and forward to chamber a round. Then, you pull the lower trigger to fire. Work the pump action again, to chamber the next round." Ripley used the pump action again to eject the shells "If you want to safely unload the shells, keep working the pump and the shells will eject from out the side. Sounds simple enough, right?" Mine nods in agreement. They switched weapons again and Mine began loading the shells with natural dexterity.

Mine turns and aims down the firing range. She holds the pulse-rifle steady, and cocked the pump to chamber a round. _Ch-chk!_ Mine didn't bother with selecting a single target. Instead, she broadened her aim towards a small group clustered together, and pulls the lower trigger. The grenade shot out of the barrel in a dull plunk. The round traveled rapidly across the range, and impacted into the chest of the center dummy. What came next was a booming explosion, that shook the entire firing range. _Kaboom!_

A small pandemonium ensued, as the crowd of Revolutionary Army Soldiers cried out in shock with most of them covering their ears in defense of the deafening explosion, while a few of them even whooped and cheered at the spectacular demolition. At the other end of the firing range, the hapless dummies were reduced to a pile of burned splinters while the ones standing along the outside were ignited by the grenade's incendiary blast radius.

The crowd began to applaud and cheer, in an attempt to goad Mine into sending another blast on the last cluster of target dummies. With a smirk, the pink clad assassin obliged and cocked the pump action again, before launching the second grenade. Every gathered soldier roared with enthusiasm, as the second blast wiped out the remaining dummies on the firing range. When the dust and debris settled, only ash and bits of shattered armor lay scattered about.

Only the members of Night Raid stayed quiet among their clamoring comrades. They've already seen the scale of destruction made by Colonial Marine technology. Their only questions were, how many more apocalyptic war machinery does Ripley and her friends Hicks and Bishop have access to? Most were eager to find out.

Satisfied with having played with the pulse-rifle and flamethrower, Mine hands the pulse-rifle back to Ripley, who gladly accepts and wounds the elastic tape back around both weapons again.

Najenda approaches them from a dwindling crowd, with Susanoo and Akame in tow. "Well, you two have certainly been busy" commented Night Raid's leader "That display of high tech firepower, would surely boost morale throughout this base."

Ripley carefully sets her weapons to safety and slings them across her back "Glad, to be of some help. I kind of felt like a fifth wheel around here."

Many of Night Raid's members were nearby, with the exception of Chelsea and Leone. They chuckled pleasantly at hearing Ripley's jest. Mine spoke up from among them "So, what's the word on our departure to Kyoroch, Commander? I thought we'd be well on our way already?" Najenda makes a disgusted frown "Sorry about the delay, but one of the Scouting Parties unknowingly commandeered our Air Manta. We're currently on standby, until we can find proper transport."

"Looks like the Scouting Parties were in a rush to go witness a veritable clash of titans." Commented Tatsumi. Everyone present began to shuffle uncomfortably at the possible battle between the Aliens and the Empire's forces including the Jaegers. No one was eager to learn who'd be victorious.

"Whoever wins, we lose." Surmised Ripley "If the Jaegers are as powerful and deadly, as everyone says, I'd much rather face the Aliens." She admitted, then she looked up thoughtfully "That reminds me. Akame, do you have a minute?"

The red eyed swordswoman calmly nods, and Ripley gestures for her to accompany the former Warrant Officer back at the barracks. Akame and Ripley walked towards Night Raid's quarters, while Najenda, Newt, Mine, Tatsumi, and Lubbock went to the stables to try acquiring suitable transport. Susanoo stayed behind at the firing range, to help with the cleanup.

When Ripley and Akame returned to the barracks, Leone was already at the bathhouse and Chelsea had just stepped out and greeted them "What's up, ladies? Why haven't we left yet?" she asked. "Someone's made off with our ride. Right now, we're checking to see if anyone can provide us with an alternative." Ripley answered. The glamorous assassin shakes her head in resignation "Wonderful. That can take all day. I might as well get lunch." She waves them goodbye, and walked towards the mess hall. Ripley and Akame return the gesture, and stepped inside the barracks.

"So, what's this about Ripley? Did you want to talk to me?" Akame asks curiously. Ripley spoke "I'd like to talk to you about your sister Kurome." The swordswoman gives a cautious look "How much, do you know about her?" Ripley replies "Enough to know, you two were members of the Empire's Assassination Squad. That you defected and joined Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army, while Kurome remained loyal and stayed with the Empire and joined the Jaegers." The former Warrant Officer walked over to one of the Colonial Marine supply boxes "Enough to understand, that you had the Decency to fight for Righteousness rather than Evil. And, that your Sister didn't."

"It wasn't about Decency! It was about Delusion! And Desperation!" Akame said defensively "When we were children, our parents sold us into slavery and the Empire bought us in secret. We were then brutally trained and conditioned to serve the Empire, and kill its enemies. Murder, was all we knew throughout our lives. We eventually came to understand that killing was wrong, but our superiors taught us that the Empire was benevolent and that we were killing for the happiness and safety of others." Akame turned her head and looked out a window towards the stables "It wasn't until my last assignment, which was to assassinate the recently defected General Najenda, did I learn the true nature of the Empire. It was Najenda, who revealed to me the truth of the Evil and Corruption that has taken over the Empire, and convinced me to defect and fight alongside her as an assassin of Night Raid."

Ripley opens one of the Marine supply boxes and began rummaging through it "I get, why you left. But tell me, why Kurome stayed?" Akame places a hand over on her chest "I was born with a natural talent as an assassin. And Kurome wasn't, she was much weaker and more frail. So the Empire had her injected with experimental drugs and dangerous chemicals, in an attempt to make an assassin who was stronger, faster, and had more endurance. The experiment worked, for the most part. But as a side effect, Kurome's health began deteriorating and her mental faculties started to break down. Pretty soon, she'll either die of organ failure or her synapse will regress into a vegetative state in which the Empire will dispose of her anyway. Worst case, they'll keep her body for further study, cut her open, and reduce her to nothing more than pieces of flesh to store in jars and placed on laboratory shelves."

Akame's crimson eyes began fill with tears "Kurome is just a teenager, who's helplessly at the mercy of the Empire. Completely deluded with serving the Empire and wracked by constant pain from the changes to her body. The Empire ensures her loyalty by subjecting her to constant brainwashing, and making her dependent on a supply of drugs that eases her pain and keeps her body from dying too fast."

Akame stares down at her Imperial Arm, Murasame in its sheath "I've killed so many people. First, for the Empire, and then for Night Raid. I have much more blood on my hands, than Kurome. There may not be any Redemption for me when this fight is over, but Kurome doesn't have to be damned as well. There's nothing that I'd want more, than to free my Little Sister from this kind of World. To take her to a place, where she'll never be force to kill or suffer any pain. But I know, I must destroy the Empire first. The needs of the many comes before my own desires. And I cannot let Kurome stand in the way of that. I won't hesitate to Eliminate her, if it comes to that." She places a hand back over her heart "But, if there's even a small chance that I might save my little sister, and bring her back to me. I'll do whatever it takes."

Ripley grabbed ahold of something within the box, and she turned her head back at Akame "What would it take for you to get Kurome back?" the former Warrant Officer asked. The red eyed assassin took a moment to think, and then she spoke "She obviously needs to be captured. At this point, there's no chance of convincing Kurome to come quietly. If by some miracle, we can take my Little Sister prisoner, we must get her immediate treatment. Her condition is complicated, to say the least. But, I may have an idea that might actually work." Ripley makes a grin "So do I."

With a winded heave, Ripley lugged a large machine from of the supply box, and placed it between her and Akame. "Do you know what this is?" asked the former Warrant Officer. Akame shakes her head "No. What is it?"

Ripley explains "It's a medical diagnostic unit. A device that can provide emergency care for people who are sick or injured out in the field. It's part of a set, with which you can perform preliminary treatment and even surgery. It's indispensable in the hands of even the least skilled Doctor or Medical Technician." Akame gazes at the machine in wonder "Are you saying, this can cure Kurome? Can this machine really save my Little Sister?" Ripley makes a reluctant shrug "I don't want to lead you on with some false hope. But, I'm confident this advanced technology might have a chance in providing her with a cure. And if we can get an experienced medical practitioner to help, Kurome's chances will definitely triple."

Akame's red eyes light up excitedly "Who do we know, that can qualify?" Ripley holds her chin in thought "Well, there's that resident Doctor with those Nifty Gloves, we've met at the infirmary. And I was also thinking, maybe if-" she stops talking, as they both hear sounds through the barracks' walls.

A loud set of noise was growing outside the barracks. Throughout the base, people were yelling, screaming, and running in panic. Akame started running out of the barracks, to investigate the commotion. Ripley dashed right behind and nearly overtook the speedy assassin, as a new sound overlapped all others. The sound of jet engines.

Akame was weaving her way through a crowd of scrambling panicked Revolutionary Army soldiers, with a hustling Ripley following close behind. All around them, soldiers were gathering weapons and shouting orders to form ranks. Somewhere nearby, someone was sounding an alarm horn. "Akame! Ripley! Over here!" Najenda was calling for them. She was standing at the center clearing of the base, where they previously landed the Air Manta. Beside her, stood Newt and all the members of Night Raid were gathered.

"Commander, what is going on!?" Akame asked, while she and Ripley ran towards Najenda. "We have incoming! Our sentries spotted an Unknown Object falling out of the sky, and now it's flying straight towards us!" answered Night Raid's leader. All eyes began combing the skies, looking for the source of the alarm. Mine had her visor equipped, and was the first to see it. She points upwards and calls out as loud as she could "Look! Up there!"

Everyone began to follow the pink clad gunner's directions. And everybody went quiet with bewilderment and awe. The base grew silent, except for the sound of rising jet thrusters and a few people calling out what they think they are seeing "It's a flying Danger Beast!" "It's body looks metallic. Could it be an insect!?" "It's roaring loudly!" "Maybe, it's a dragon!?" "It's getting closer!".

"Ripley? Is that what I thinks it is?" asked an awestruck Najenda. Ripley answered her in earnest "Yes! Yes, it is!"

The UD-4L Cheyenne dropship soared over the base, and hovered above the staring crowd. Beneath its broad shape, landing struts began to extend in readiness to touchdown. Najenda and Ripley turned to look at each other in realization. Immediately, they began shouting at everybody to clear the way. All of Night Raid joined in clearing away bystanders, and Newt quickly ran up to cling to Ripley's hip in order to not get lost in the chaos.

When all of the confused Revolutionary soldiers were moved aside to form a landing spot, Ripley ran to the front and began to signal an All Clear to Bishop in the ship's cockpit. The synthetic android slowly lowered the dropship, until its landing struts have completely touched the ground. After successfully landing, Bishop killed the engines and the dropship's main loading ramp lowered open. And a fully armored Hicks carrying a pulse-rifle, marched down the ramp and in front of a startled crowd of thousands of onlookers. No one moved, or said anything. Only Ripley and Newt ran out towards the Colonial Marine.

Hicks slung his pulse-rifle across his back and opened his arms to receive Ripley and Newt as they threw themselves at him with laughter and tears. The three of them embraced like a long separated family, as if they've waited for years to reunite.

All the Revolutionary soldiers present remained confused, as they witnessed this emotional spectacle. Some began to check their weapons thoughtfully. Until, Najenda quickly called out an order to stand down. An audible clattering sound began to spread throughout the base, as weapons were dropped, sheathed, or holstered.

Night Raid's leader and all her Subordinates were the next ones to approach Hicks. The Corporal placed Ripley and Newt behind him, as he cautiously surveyed the group of assassins. "I assume, you're the Friends, Ripley mentioned over the radio?" inquired Hicks. Najenda extended her normal hand out to him "My name is Najenda. And, yes. Me and my Team are very good friends to Ripley and Newt."

Ripley stepped between Hicks and Najenda "Hicks. Najenda and her Crew were the ones responsible for saving me and Newt. They found us at the Hadley Colony, and brought us safely to their base. Without them, neither of Us would be standing here right now."

Hicks took Najenda's hand and shook it vigorously, while enthusiastically proclaiming "My Name is Hicks. Corporal Dwayne Hicks of the United States Colonial Marine Corps. And any friend of Ripley and Newt, is a friend to Me as well!" All around the base, the entire Revolutionary Army cheered and applauded at seeing that the new Visitors have come in peace.

"Wow! He looks a lot like Tatsumi." Commented an intrigued Leone. All of the members of Night Raid walked closer, and immediately made a comparison between Hicks and Tatsumi. Aside from Hicks' acid wounds, the two male brunettes were definitely similar. But, they had subtle differences. Tatsumi's eyes are pure emerald green in color, while Hicks' eyes were an aqua green with flecks of blue near the pupils. Tatsumi's cowlicked hair is dark brown, while Hicks' back swept hair has a lighter shade towards blonde. And finally, Hicks' sturdy body was half a head taller than Tatsumi's, and is more broad in the shoulders.

Then Chelsea adds teasingly "Well, even with those scars. He's definitely a little more handsome than our Tatsumi" the young woman throws a bothered Tatsumi a wink, while Leone and Mine kept up their stares at Hicks and nodded idly. No one bothered to argue on Tatsumi's behalf. Only Akame looked around with a dull confused expression. Question marks started rising from her head as she spoke "What do you mean, Chelsea? Tatsumi looks the same as he always does. How can a scarred stranger look better than him." Seeing an opportunity to stick it to the green eyed fighter, Mine mischievously blurted "That's precisely the point, Akame!" Leone, Lubbock, and Chelsea found themselves chuckling alongside the genius sniper.

Seeing someone being made fun of, slightly irked Corporal Hicks. Especially someone who closely resembles him and reminds him of his younger self. So he decides to come to the boy's defense. He sauntered towards Mine and rebutted "Now now, little girl. You shouldn't make fun of your elders like that."

The members of Night Raid stopped goofing and make a surprised expression, except for Mine. She looked like someone kicked her in the stomach. Before she can throw a fit, another person stepped down the ship's loading ramp, and spoke as if on queue. "Correction, Corporal Hicks. That female is not a child, as you have described. But merely a teenage young adult, albeit one the hasn't fully developed or matured yet." explained Bishop.

Now, almost every member of Night Raid began to snicker at Mine, with the exception of Najenda, Susanoo, and a still confused Akame. Mine was red all over and the top of her head whistled, as she began to steam in anger. Understanding he was starting to get under the pink haired gunner's skin, Hicks blew her a kiss to further provoke her. And it was starting to work.

Before anyone could get themselves shot at, Bishop strategically placed himself at the center of the group and introduced himself "Greetings. I am Science Officer Lance Bishop. Executive Officer and Active Pilot of the USS Sulaco." He extended his hand and offered it to an enraged Mine. "You called me, Immature!" Mine growled accusingly. The synthetic android met the pink clad assassin's glowering look with a calm expression "I most deeply apologize for the misunderstanding. What I meant to say is that, you still retain a youthful vigor. If I can be permitted to consider you a late bloomer, my database would suggest that not only will you attain much beauty in later years, but also maintain it well into the autumn years of your adult life."

Suddenly, all of Mine's anger fizzled away to the sound of a raspberry. "Really!? Is what you're saying, really true?" she asked with stars shining brilliantly in her eyes. Lubbock wasn't convinced "No way! Are you saying, this flat, skinny little hellcat is going to turn into some insanely gorgeous babe, one day?" he asked in total disbelief. Before Mine and the consummate pervert can go into another ranting argument, Bishop answered him "My database contains every known detailed record and information on the human genome. My assumptions rarely missed their mark."

"You must be, Bishop." Said Najenda "You're quite the gentleman, even though you're not really a man." Bishop picked up on Night Raid's leader's weak attempt at humor, but ignores it and replies "I prefer the term, Artificial Human myself." To the side, Newt was whispering something into a crouched Hicks' ear.

The Corporal stood up and walked towards Mine again, who in turn stood back in defense. "Newt tells me, you were the one who found her and Ripley near the Atmosphere Processor. And that you fought the hardest, when the Aliens attacked. She tells me, that you and Tatsumi are quite the brave and selfless fighters." He offers his hand, and Mine reluctantly shakes it. "She also says, you reminded her of Vasquez." Said Hicks. Mine gave him a suspicious look "Who's Vasquez?" she asked. The Marine grinned with nostalgia "She was very brave woman, who was quick on the trigger and lethal with her attitude alone. Hudson would've surely liked you, also." The genius sniper made a sympathetic smile "They were your comrades, right? The ones who nobly gave their lives in the fight against the Aliens? Ripley told me about them." She found herself holding back some tears "I had a friend who was like that too. Sometimes, I think it's not fair for comrades to throw themselves in harm's way. How could they do such a thing, knowing it would deprive us of their cherished company?"

Hicks placed a hand on Mine's shoulder "You should try to look at it from your friends' perspective. Would they have preferred it, that you'd perished instead? When you take up arms and fight alongside friends, all lives are at risk. What matters, is what you do with the life they saved. Would you spend it wallowing in anger, hate, and resentment? Or would you swallow it down and go kick someone's ass? When your Enemies take out one of your friends, you make sure they Earn that Kill. Pound for Motherfucking Pound." Mine understands what Hicks is saying, but she shakes her head "It's more complicated than that. You still don't understand what we've been through. What kind of people we all are. And, the kind of Monsters we fight."

Hicks grunted in annoyance, but he looked around thoughtfully "Let's remedy that issue, right away! Tell me everything about you people. I want to hear every little detail, from start to finish." He points at Najenda "Starting with you." Night Raid's leader shook her head "I'm sorry, Corporal. My Team and I have a very important mission to attend to." She turns to Ripley "If we don't hurry and find a way to get to Kyoroch, soon. The Jaegers might get there before us, and our mission will become much more dangerous than anticipated."

Najenda makes ready to head back to the stables, but someone grabbed her hand and held her up. She turns quickly, and saw that it was Hicks who grabbed her. "What's this about the Jaegers? What is their relationship to you?" he asked. Najenda was about to tell the Marine to unhand her, but she saw the desperate look in his eyes and decided to quickly explain "The Jaegers are our Enemies. They're a group of merciless killers, dedicated to hunting us down to the last person and wiping us out." Much to Night Raid's leader's astonishment, the Corporal only made a fierce grin "I know who you're talking about. I've met the Jaegers personally. Their Leader, General Esdeath is quite the Murderous Bitch."

Najenda, Ripley, Newt, and every member of Night Raid gasped in shock. Most of the Revolutionary Soldiers nearby, began to murmur amongst themselves. Word of Hicks' encounter with the Jaegers, quickly spread throughout the base. Everybody nearly chanted together in unison, with just the one question "What the Hell happened!?"

Hicks makes a lighthearted chuckle. He begins to lead Najenda by the hand towards the Dropship's loading ramp "If you do what I ask and answer my questions, I'll tell you everything that you want to know." He then beckoned for every member of Night Raid to come aboard "If you guys got a bone to pick with the Jaegers, I am just the Ultimate Badass you'd want to talk to!"

 **The Alien Hive, North of Hadley's Hope**

Esdeath tried to run, in pursuit of the Alien Queen. But she can only step a few feet forward before having to keel over in pain from her injury. Wave immediately ran to her side to assist the General "Ma'am! Are you alright!?" The Jaegers' leader waved him away "I'm fine, Wave. Just winded, is all." She was clinging her side, as if trying to conceal it. But Wave wasn't fooled.

The sailor Jaeger stepped closer "What are you saying!? You can barely move!" he was approaching from behind her, before she turned around and tried to swat him away "I said, I'm alright!" she growled. But in her fury, she mistakenly revealed the extent of her wounds by moving her arm and exposing the purple bruise on the side of her ribcage. Luckily, Wave paid no attention to the bruising, because something else distracted him instead.

In her last battle, Esdeath lost the top portion of her uniform. Leaving her with nothing, but a skimpy white bra that left little to the imagination. Her toned abs and lightly muscled shoulders were bare for all to see. And her large breasts pressed tight against her pure white bra, as if threatening to burst out at any given moment. Wave's face began to turn a deep shade of magenta, as he couldn't help but stare at his Commander's lush beauty. Back atop the Bird Wyvern, Kurome looks at the sailor Jaegers' helplessness, and rolled her eyes in annoyance. Below her, Seryu ran up to the flying Danger Beast's side and called up to the teenage assassin "Kurome! Pass me, my bag! Hurry!"

Kurome did as she was told and grabbed Seryu's travel pack. She carefully drops it down to the auburn haired young woman. Seryu hastily opened her pack and brought out a large jar-like culture tank filled with a clear viscous fluid. She places Koro's orb-like core inside, and reseals the glass tank. The damaged core bobbed and floated in the center and remained suspended in that position. "Did I make it, in time?" Seryu asked herself. After a short moment, the orb began to glow in steady pulses. The amber eyed Jaeger breath a sight of relief, as she silently thanked the late Dr. Stylish for providing the emergency regeneration tank for the biological Imperial Arm. She stowed the tank back into her travel bag, and slung it over her shoulder for safe keeping. Seryu then walks over to where the Dog Alien had neutralized Koro. Much of her Judgement of the Ten Kings weapons have been destroyed or used up, and the remainders have been left scattered about when Koro was defeated. And only a few of those weapons can be salvaged. The missile turrets and the antitank rifle as well as the missile launching arm, have used up all their ammunition. Bringing them back with her for reloading won't be possible without Koro to carry them all. Only her hookshot and Justice City Detector can be carried back by herself. She will have to abandon the rest of her weapons.

"Ahem!" Seryu hears a cough, and turns around to see a blushing Wave take off his jacket and offered it to a half-naked Esdeath. The General just stares at the jacket quizzically "What's that for?" she asked, completely unaware of her embarrassing situation. "As a Man of the Sea, it is my responsibility to uphold a woman's modesty!" Wave explains. Esdeath looks down and barely realizes she's shirtless "So, what's the problem? I lost my uniform in that fight with the Creatures. I'm not cold, if that's what you're worried about." She doesn't realize how uncomfortable she's making her Subordinate feel. Thankfully, Seryu dashed over to Wave and helped argue his case "Wave's right, Commander! Justice demands that all women maintain decent attire."

Esdeath makes a sigh and finally accepts Wave's jacket. She slips it on and tries to zip it shut, but despite the jacket's broad spacing and her best attempt to zip up, her large cleavage kept the zipper open just below the tattoo marking.

After giving up on completely zipping Wave's jacket closed, Esdeath looked at her Subordinates to see if they finally approve of her appearance. Both Seryu and Wave's cheeks were slightly flushed, but the two of them remained silent. They've done all they could, to have their Commander cover up.

A series of blips sounded off from Seryu's Justice City Detector, and the auburn haired murderess glanced nervously at the radar scope. All of the signal readings from the Alien Horde in the collapsed tunnel have begun to leave the area. The Aliens have abandoned the Hive, to follow Their Queen.

Esdeath glanced over at the chamber opening, which the Alien Queen escaped out of. It was too risky to go chasing after the Creatures. The forest beyond is vast, dense, and mostly uncharted. Attempting a pursuit now would be suicide, considering her injury and the ragged shape of her Team. The Jaegers' leader noticed both Wave and Kurome were covered in bandages. Run and Bols are still unaccounted for.

Esdeath was about to turn back and address her present Jaegers, but then her boot brushed against a peculiar looking object. It looked like a large hand with too much fingers attached and had a long tail. Closer observation revealed that the hand-like object had resided in an oval shaped pouch, and that both wound up crushed beneath the ice ball the General had previously unleashed. Curious, the blue haired woman carefully scanned the entire chamber and noticed a lot of these oval pods lay scattered throughout the chamber.

Almost all of the mysterious pods have been destroyed as collateral during the battle between the Jaegers and the Aliens. Most were crushed and trampled, when Esdeath used her ice attacks to fight off the rampaging Bull Alien and the crafty Dog Alien afterwards. Others were blown apart by Seryu's artillery bombardment. And a few were stomped on by Koro, during his failed attempt to assault the Queen.

"Seryu. Any idea, what these things are?" Esdeath asked her subordinate, while pointing to another crushed pod. Seryu looks at her Commander, then at the pod "I don't know, Ma'am." She answers "These pods were already here, when I first entered the chamber. I do know, that the very large Monster was producing them, using that big ugly sac in the center." She point at the Queen's ovipositor.

Esdeath walks up to the Queen's egg sac, and studies it close. "What exactly is this thing? Some sort of egg sac?" she looks back at the pods "Could those be eggs? Was this place, some sort of nest?" it started to make sense to her. Some species of animals and insects would select a large female to lead their group. A Matriarch, that would lay the eggs and increase their numbers. A Brood Mother. A Queen.

"A ruling Queen sitting atop her throne, governing All." Mused the Jaegers' leader, as she stared at the empty biomechanical throne. When it yielded no answers, she glimpse over at the bodies of the two Creatures she's killed. "The Queen's Defenders. Her Royal Guards?" for some reason, Esdeath felt as if the words didn't sound right when used to describe these two Monsters. She takes one last look at the hand-like creatures, and wondered if these things would somehow grow up into more of these Serpent Beasts, had they lived. She doesn't know and probably won't find out anytime soon, since most of the Creatures are dead and the Remaining Survivors had fled with Their Queen.

Esdeath finally calls out to her Subordinates "Alright, everybody fall in! Give your status, everyone." Wave was the first Jaeger to reach her, in attendance. The General can see, he had bandages on his right shoulder and left leg. Kurome hopped down from atop the Bird Wyvern, and fell to her knees upon landing. The teenage Jaeger quickly scrambled to her feet and did her best to keep from limping, as she approached the blue haired woman who was leering suspiciously at Kurome's bandaged neck and wrist. Seryu was the last to approach, as she had just finished placing her salvaged weapons inside her bag.

When the auburn haired young woman finally joined up with the others, Wave began to debrief "More of those Creatures attacked us. They were able to pierce Grand Chariot's armor with Their tail blades, and stabbed me in the leg and the shoulder. Kurome was-" before the sailor can finish talking, Kurome kicked his leg wound from behind. As he began hobble away in pain and tried to walk it off, Akame's Little Sister spoke up "I lost my Imperial Arm. It was destroyed, when I fought one of those Creatures and wound up stabbing It. It's blood dissolved Yatsufusa's blade." Esdeath continued to glare at Kurome's bandaged wounds, but she relented "Well, neither one of us could have known that these Serpents have such a destructive morphology. When we get back to the Capitol, I'll make sure you'll get a replacement weapon."

Kurome smiled and nods in appreciation. Wave walks up from behind her, and resumed speaking "We found another exit, down the tunnel Kurome and I took. It led back out into the forest. And we found the dead bodies of the Danger Beasts Blitz Hound, Grey Ape, and Raging Bull. They were cocooned in that weird slime from earlier. Just like the Imperial Soldiers, we found back in the Hive. They also had the same wounds. Something came bursting out of those Danger Beasts as well.

"The same wounds…" Esdeath wondered. She looks over the body of the Dog Alien and reminisces on It's uncanny ability to use Blitz Hound's After Image. "Could it be? Is there a connection between them, somehow?" she asked aloud. Seryu became confused "What was that, Ma'am? Did you figure something out?" the blue haired General shakes her head "I don't know. I was just thinking, how this Monster was able to use a similar ability that was exclusive to the Blitz Hound?" she points over towards the Runner Xenomorph's body. Then, she indicates the decapitated body of the Bull Alien "The two Creatures that I've just killed. They bore a striking resemblance to the dead Danger Beasts."

Wave fidgeted "Are you suggesting, that these Serpents were able to copy the abilities and traits of captured Danger Beasts?" Kurome spoke up "Makes sense. I've fought and killed one of these Creatures, that closely resembles the Grey Ape. It had protective body armor, similar to the Grey Ape's toughened hide." The teen assassin also points to the Dog Alien's corpse "And that one attacked me soon after. Right, when I lost my Imperial Arm. It's speed was superb, just like a Blitz Hound."

Seryu walked over to the Dog Alien's body, and kicked Its head furiously "Cowardly Disgusting Menace. Justice doesn't allow Evil such as you to exist. If you'd fought me, I wouldn't have left you in one piece! I would have your head stuck on a spike for all to see, had it not have been for your vile blood!" she fumed in anger at being unable to mutilate the body further, without getting burned by acid.

Wave continued pondering "So how exactly do these Serpents manage to copy another creature's characteristics? By what means do They accomplish that?"

Esdeath finally shrugs "We'll probably find out the answer to that, soon enough. For now, has anyone seen either Run or Bols?" Wave shrugs and says "No". Kurome stares down and began assuming the worst. Seryu frantically gazed all around the chamber in worry "I hope, they're all right."

"Up here!" Run calls down, and all eyes turned upwards to see the winged Jaeger descend through the opening of the chamber's ceiling. Run lands in front of his fellow Jaegers and deactivates Mastema's wings "Pretty sure, I wasn't the only one to come across some Hostiles. Though I can say for certain, I'm the only one to come away unscathed." He closely studied his comrades' roughed up conditions, and can see clearly that everyone here had barely managed to stay alive. And from what the opening in the back of the chamber was telling him, not all of the Creatures have been exterminated. Something Big and Powerful had smashed It's way out of the chamber, and left a trail of bent trees, large tracks, and resinous slime along Its path.

Wave and Seryu ran up to him, grinning happily. Kurome steadily walked up behind them, soon after. "You've said it, Run! It's been a hard day all around, for each of us. Although I wouldn't say the same about you." Commented Wave. Seryu gives the sailor Jaeger a berating frown "Of course, Wave! We're the Jaegers, Allies of Justice! None of us can ever be defeated by the Forces of Evil! These Serpents only managed to get away, using low cunning and despicable acts of cowardice. They won't be so lucky, next time!"

Kurome stepped closer to Wave and leaned against him for support. Run held his chin in thought, wondering when did those two ever became so close.

Only Esdeath stayed where she is, quietly watching their little reunion unfold. Crossing her arms patiently, she then asks "Run. Have you seen Bols? Is he alright?"

Run hesitates "I…I'm not sure." Everyone donned a look of concern for Bols, as they stared at the General's Aide. He gestures that they follow him, and the Jaegers boarded the flying Danger Beast to fly out of the Queen's chamber. Riding atop the Bird Wyvern, Esdeath, Wave, Kurome and Seryu flew behind Run, as he leads them to a different part of the Hive. After landing and walking through Wave and Kurome's tunnel, the Jaegers continued down towards the central chamber and down through Run and Bols' tunnel to reach the other chamber. There, the masked Jaeger laid unconscious amidst the burned walls of cocooned Imperial Soldiers. And on his face, a strange hand looking creature has latched on, with Its long tail coiled around his throat.

Run began to explain what happened "We made our way down our tunnel, and wound up in this chamber. It's most likely Their main storage for captured victims." He points at an empty pod "There were tons of pods like those, scattered about. Along with the bodies of dead Creatures, just like the one on Bols' face." He then points at the cocooned soldiers' burned carcasses "We immediately began searching for survivors among the captive bodies. Bols found a survivor, and sent me to bring you all here. I went some ways back down the tunnel, when that awful shriek pierced the silence. I just reached the first chamber, when the Creatures started coming out of the walls. I had to fly to safety and defend myself. Some time after, the Monsters suddenly retreated and disappeared. I doubled back towards Bols, and found him like this."

Esdeath glared down at the unconscious Bols and recognized the animal on his face "It's that small Creature from before. The ones, that were in those pods we've destroyed." The Jaegers gathered around Bols to closely observe the Alien Facehugger. Wave stepped closer and asked out loud "What the Hell is that Thing doing to him!?" He started to reach for the parasite, but Run grabbed his outstretched arm to stop him "Don't touch it! I've already tried to pull it off. But that Creature's tail instantly tightened around Bols' throat and nearly strangled him. It seems It can sense any attempts to pry It off."

Esdeath turns to Run "Any Idea, what It's doing to him?" The General's Aide pondered the question "I checked his vitals, when I found I couldn't get the Creature off of Bols' face without It tearing the face off with It. His heart rate is steady. So is his breathing. Whatever this Thing is, It's not doing any immediate harm." He points to a stab wound on Bols' shoulder "But something else did That to him. So he must've been attacked. Could have encountered one of those Serpents."

Seryu gazed at the scorched walls and the charred bodies of cocooned Imperial Soldiers "These burned surroundings, seemed to have been caused by Rubicante. Why would Bols torch the entire chamber, if he was looking for survivors?" Kurome closely studied the damage, done by Rubicante "Bols is member of the Incineration Squad. He's a well trained soldier and a professional. He knew what he was doing. And he wouldn't do this, without good reason." She sees the large broken off canister of the Imperial Arm, Rubicante laying off to the side. Its fuel line to the missing nozzle, was severed by something sharp. The teenage assassin spots the smashed nozzle and points to it "And I'm pretty sure, something gave a good enough reason to use his Imperial Arm. He must have been taken by surprise and somehow ended up with one these Bugs on him."

Run turns back to Esdeath "General. I tallied up the bodies we found in here. I can now confirm the total loss of the Expeditionary Force. Aside from the hundred still stationed at the Southern Outpost, everyone else is dead." The General makes a scowl "We couldn't have anticipated how strong and lethal, these Creatures can be. Next time, the Serpents won't take us by surprise. We'll be ready for Them." She gazes back down at Bols "Let's get him out of here and loaded onto the flying Danger Beast. We're taking him back to the Capitol, for treatment. There must be some way of getting that Creature off his face." Wave spoke up and asked "What about the Mission? We still haven't made it towards the Valley of the Mysterious Explosion. Are we just gonna turn back and leave?"

Esdeath kept up her scowl "I don't like this any more than you do, Wave. But, we have no other choice." She feels her tender rib beneath the sailor's jacket "Most of us have sustained injuries. Bols and Koro are incapacitated. And Kurome needs an replacement weapon. Those Creatures are still out there in the forest wilderness, and we still have no proper means of tracking them." The blue haired General approached Bols before kneeling and searching his pockets. She then stepped away from him with a remote device in hand. "But, we do have a way of hindering their movements." She displays the detonator to Rubicante's self-destruct mechanism "We'll wipe out the Hive. Take away Their base of operations, and leave Them exposed." Kurome looks at the remote detonator "What is that, Commander?" the Jaegers' leader makes a mischievous grin "This is a remote detonation device, that can activate Rubicante to self-destruct. Bols confided in me, that his Imperial Arm can cause a massive explosion with a large blast radius. It should be able to level this entire Hive in one go."

Seryu raises a mechanical arm "So, we blow up the Hive. Head back to the Capitol. Recover and Rearm. And then, come back out here?" Esdeath nods "That's the plan, Seryu. We still need to investigate the Valley of the Mysterious Explosion. I have a strong hunch, we'll find our answers to the many mysteries we've encountered. What are these Serpents? Where did they come from? Who exactly was that Corporal Hicks, in that airship? I have a feeling, that Valley is linked to all of it. We'll come back for sure. And we won't be alone either. I'm having my army accompany us, on our next trip out here."

Wave, Kurome, and Seryu nod in understanding. Run however was busy thinking about a certain detail "Commander, do you recall what that Corporal Hicks said about his affiliation and mission?" Esdeath racked her memories and recalled the Corporal's words "Corporal Dwayne Hicks of the United States Colonial Marine Corps. On a mission to investigate and eradicate a possible Xenomorph infestation on Planet LV-426." She crosses her arms "What's your point, Run? We still can't determine what any of that means. Assuming, that Cretin was telling the truth." The General's Aide nods "Well, you said you believed what he was saying. Anyway, I have a few theories and ideas of what he was talking about."

Everyone gathered around and listened intently. Then Run began explaining "I believe United States Colonial Marine Corps might be a reference to a military organization operating outside the Empire." Everyone, but Esdeath looked surprised.

Wave was skeptical "Are you saying, these Colonial Marines are some sort of foreign nation's military? I've never heard of them, or this United States for that matter." Esdeath then spoke up "Whoever they are, or wherever they come from. It doesn't seem like their presence here was an invasion. Corporal Hicks seemed unconcerned about the Empire's existence, and was instead focused on finding his teammates and their target, these Xenomorphs" Run nods in agreement "Moving on. Next, the term Planet LV-426 obviously refers to some sort of world, beyond our own."

Seryu fidgeted "What do you mean, Run? I thought the only world that exists, is this one we're living in right now?" Run sighs and dons his schoolteacher attitude "When you look at the sky at night, you see the stars. Correct?" Everyone nods "Good. Now astrologists theorized, that most of the stars up there are actually giant solid mass of rocks and minerals called celestial bodies. Still following me?" His comrades nod again "Excellent. When these celestial bodies grow and attain a degree of size, density, and complexity, it becomes a planet. Most of these planets are believed to be barren and uninhabitable. But, there has always been a prevailing theory that one in a million of those planets might sustain life."

The Jaegers processed this information with different reactions. Seryu scolded "Impossible! I was always told, our world was the only one that Justice protects." Wave interjected "But, Seryu. We've all heard what that Corporal Hicks told us. And there's that airship, he was flying in. That machine took him high up into the sky, as if he was leaving this world and into the heavens." "It's called Outer Space" said Run "You're a sailor, Wave. So, imagine Outer Space as a Great Ocean. Then think of Hicks' airship to be a regular ship, taking him across that Great Ocean and towards other ports and continents which would actually be other planets or other worlds." Wave thought about it for a minute and nodded to show he understood. Esdeath shrugs at her own thoughts "If there are inhabited Worlds out there. All it means to me, is that there'll be more Things for me to fight and kill. I wouldn't be bored anytime soon."

Kurome spoke in a low voice, which no one heard "Big Sis always wanted to sail around the World and see new places. What would be her reaction, if she finds out the possibility of visiting whole other Worlds out there?"

 **Revolutionary Army Main Base, South of the Empire**

"Achoo!" Inside Night Raid's barracks, Akame suddenly makes a loud sneeze. "You okay, Akame? You're not coming down with something, are you?" asked a concerned Tatsumi. Kurome's Older Sister waves her hand away in assurance "No. I must have breathed in some of this dust."

Tatsumi bends down and grabs one end of a supply box "Well, come on. Help me with this last crate. The sooner we finish loading up the Dropship. The sooner we can leave for Kyoroch. We still have to bring Hicks and Bishop up to date on current events." Akame follows suit and grabs the other end "Najenda can easily cover all that." The green eyed fighter glared at her "Boss is only telling them the goals and existence of Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army, along with the deep-seated Corruption and Evil of the Empire. But, Hicks insisted we all tell him about our individual stories and pasts. He's trying to build trust between us, since we'll all be working together." The red eyed assassin bites her lip in uncertainty, but decides not to argue. Hicks and Bishop are Ripley and Newt's comrades and friends. They fought together, and survived together. They stand to offer everything Night Raid desires. But, can they give Akame what truly lies in her heart? Can they really save Kurome? Will they ever be free, to explore this World and Beyond?

 **The Alien Hive, North of Hadley's Hope**

With not much else to wait for, the Jaegers began making their slow trek through the Hive and back to the Bird Wyvern. They had the heavy set Bols lying on a stretcher, with Run, Wave, Seryu, and Esdeath holding up a corner. Everyone agreed, that Kurome was too injured to assist. The teenage assassin insisted she wasn't and tried to take a corner for herself, until Esdeath effortlessly kicked her away with one leg and told her to go to the front and make sure the way ahead is clear.

With a sour expression, Kurome leads the way while holding up Seryu's Justice City Detector. No signals appeared on the scope, and it stayed that way as the Jaegers steadily marched back and reached the flying Danger Beast.

Wave began talking to Run, while the both of them were busy securing Bols atop the Bird Wyvern's back "Hey, Run. I thinks you've forgot to explain something to the rest of us, about what Corporal Hicks said about his mission." The General's Aide looks up after finishing tying up Bols' legs "What might that be?" The sailor checks the knots around Bols' shoulders, careful to not startle the Creature on the big Jaeger's face before answering "What exactly is a Xenomorph?"

Run takes a moment to think as Wave looks at him with patience. Seryu and Kurome have just finished stowing the travel packs, and were looking at him expectantly. Even Esdeath turned around to hear what he has to say, as she takes up the Bird Wyvern's reigns. "Well. In our vocabulary, Xeno means Other, as well as Different. And Morph means Form. Together, the words can be defined as Other Form. Or in some respects, Different Form. But there is a quicker, more literal meaning to the word Xenomorph." The General's Aide hesitated to speak, due to being unsure about something. Everyone stared apprehensively, and Esdeath grew impatient for the answer "And what is it? What's the Meaning?"

"ALIEN" Run finally answers "It means, Alien."

The Jaegers sat back and pondered over the revelation. Wave spoke first "That's a strange word, Alien. Can't say, I've ever heard of it." Run begins to explain "It's supposed to be an Adjective, used to describe something as Strange, Foreign, or Unknown. It really doesn't apply as a Noun, used to actually call or label a Person, Place, or Thing."

Esdeath interrupted her Subordinate "Corporal Hicks certainly used it that way, when he spoke about what him and his team were hunting." The blue haired General tugged at the reigns to get the Bird Wyvern to start moving "He called Them Xenomorphs…ALIENS." The flying Danger Beast leapt into the air, and began to take flight.

As the Bird Wyvern leveled off, and soared over the Hive, Esdeath reaches into Wave's jacket pocket and produced Rubicante's detonator "Alright. Who wants to do the honors, since I'm busy handling our winged mount?" Seryu instantly made a grab for the remote device, and snatched it out of the Jaegers' leader's hand. With her face warping into a psychotically murderous look, the auburn haired murderess rapidly pressed the button on top of the detonator.

And nothing happened. "It's not working!" Seryu became frantic, and started banging the device against her palm "Is it broken?" Run quickly yanks the detonator away from the amber eyed Jaeger "You're the one who's breaking it! Don't do that!" he points to the comatose Bols "It's still an Imperial Arm. And Rubicante is still currently wielded by Bols." Seryu crossed her mechanical arms and stuck out her tongue, while the General's Aide went over to Bols and cleverly wrapped the unconscious Jaeger's hand around the detonator.

With Bols' fingers gripping the remote detonator, Run guides the thumb and uses it to press the device's button. What follows, is an enormous explosion that spanned the entire Hive and engulfed it in a massive inferno. The Jaegers flew over and encircled the devastation, until the smoke cleared and the blaze died down. All that was left of the Alien Hive, was a smoking crater. Esdeath steered the Bird Wyvern and made it fly North, and almost everyone aboard the flying Danger Beast smiled with grim satisfaction. They were quickly sobered by a loud vengeful shriek, that nearly encompassed the entire wilderness. The Alien Queen will not forget this transgression.

Aside from Esdeath, who was busy steering the Bird Wyvern to return to the Imperial Capitol, the other Jaegers settled down to rest during their flight. Seryu checks the culture tank that held Koro's core, and grinned in relief as she sees the glowing red orb gradually solidify the deep gash at its center. It should be a matter of hours or a day, before Koro will be restored to full functionality. Run was sitting next to Bols, and continually checking his vitals. His fellow Jaeger was still unconscious, and the Strange Parasite was still clamped onto his face. Every hour that passed by with Bols breathing and heartbeat remaining steady, made Run confident that the bulky Jaeger will come out of this alive. Whatever this Creature is, this Facehugger doesn't seem to be harming Bols in any way, besides keeping him in a coma. Hopefully, when the Jaegers reach the Capitol, they might find a way to safely remove the Creature from Bols' face.

Wave laid down along a secluded portion on the flying Danger Beast's back, and started to close his eyes. He felt someone sit beside him, causing the sailor Jaeger to open his eyes and sees Kurome staring at him. "Thank you for covering for me, Wave. Though, you almost blew it earlier" she said in a hushed tone. Wave makes a frown "Well, you didn't give me much of a choice, when you kicked me. I couldn't make any excuses to hide your wounds. But, neither did I planned to reveal the extent of your injuries." He checks his own bandages "Although, mine might have been worst. I should count myself lucky, these stab wounds are straight through and through and nothing vital was hit. I'd never have thought, those Monsters can pierce Grand Chariot's armor like that." He looks over Kurome's bandages "Here. Let me have a look at those." After gaining her permission, he inspected Kurome's injuries. He starts unwinding the messy bandage and glimpses at the puncture wounds left by the Dog Alien's claws.

Despite Wave's lack of advance medical knowledge, he was sure Kurome's wounds weren't looking too good. The broken wrist can be reset. But the small puncture wounds in the back of Kurome's neck ranged from the nape, to the lower back of her head. And none of them were healing properly. The blood flow had significantly reduced, but the punctures themselves haven't closed yet. Sighing inwardly, Wave carefully undid Kurome's neck bandages, foraged for another roll from one of the travel bags, and replaced with a fresh new bandage. Kurome stayed still and quietly bore the soreness through clenched teeth, as Wave cleaned and sterilized the wound. After he finished, Wave started to wrap the bandage around Kurome's neck, while trying his best to ignore his young teammate's soft fair skin, black silky hair, and the arousing scent of her sweat.

When Wave finally wrapped the fresh bandage around her neck, the teenage assassin hastily reached for her bag of sweets and started eating them. When she had her fill, she turned back to the sailor "Thanks Wave. You're pretty reliable." After hearing the compliment, Wave blushed with slight embarrassment. He quickly overcame it and replied "Then you should know, that I meant what I said earlier. Don't push yourself like that again. You barely survived those kinds of wounds, and they're not healing right. That's got me worried." Kurome makes an annoyed scowl, but didn't berate her teammate. Instead, she calmly answers "Don't concern yourself with my condition. You asked me to hang back from the main battles, so I'll do just that." She smiled softly, and laid her hand on his "I trust you, Wave. So trust me when I tell you, I'll find a away to deal with my problems."

After giving reassurance, Kurome laid down next to Wave and curled up to sleep. After a moment of thinking, Wave laid back down and closed his eyes. Though, sleeping was difficult for him under an afternoon sun as the Jaegers cruised through the skies towards the Capitol.

Down near the top of the forest trees to the south of the ruined Hive, Night Raid's Air Manta floated above the concealing canopy. Atop the flying Danger Beast, two men and a woman with binoculars observed the battle's outcome between the Jaegers and the Aliens. The woman was the female soldier of the Revolutionary Army who wields the Imperial Arm, Extase across her back. She brushed her large bangs away from her face, as she looked through the binoculars to confirm the Jaegers' departure. The two men beside her, are Revolutionary Army scouts who were constantly surveying their surroundings with vigilance. Their job was to ascertain the status of the Aliens, and determine if any had survived the battle.

As the image of the Jaegers and the Bird Wyvern disappeared over the horizon, the female soldier puts away the binoculars "The Jaegers have retreated back towards the Imperial Capitol. All of them seem to be accounted for. One of them seems unconscious or dead, hard to tell. Most of them are definitely injured." She turns to one of the scouts "Anything on the Aliens yet? What did you guys see?"

One of the scouts looked up and spoke "We tried to follow the Queen's trail, after She's fled the Hive. She was running eastward with her brood following close behind. After the Hive exploded, we lost track of the Xenomorphs' movements." He dons a solemn, even fearful look "They can be anywhere at this point."

The female soldier bites down on her thumb in frustration "We'll have to report this to Headquarters. Both enemies have clashed and dealt much damage to each other. The Aliens have disappeared and only the Jaegers have managed come away from this alive. Other members of the Imperial Forces are presumed dead." The two scouts have nodded in agreement.

The female soldier takes the Air Manta's reigns and started guiding it to fly South "We'll need to move quickly and decisively during the days ahead. If we're lucky, Night Raid will finish their mission in time. And then the Revolutionary Army can make its final move towards putting an end to the Empire." The other scout spoke up "I heard Night Raid's new allies have joined the cause. It's rumored, that they possess advanced technology and weaponry that could overcome even the mightiest of foes. Maybe even against Imperial Arms"

The female soldier touched Extase thoughtfully "Well, let's hope for their sake that it's true. Because, that woman and little girl don't seem like fighters to me." The first scout fidgets "I've heard from a friend who attended the Meeting Assembly. He said, that these visitors Ripley and Newt are affiliated with an elite fighting force meant to combat the Aliens." The second scout raised an eyebrow "Really? Who can they be, I wonder?"

The first scout took a moment to refresh his memory. When he finished, he answers "According to Ripley, they're called the Colonial Marines."

 **Above the Clouds, East of the Empire**

The Cheyenne dropship's engines roared, as it swiftly flew through the open skies on its way to the city of Kyoroch. During its flight, it occupants were discussing and sharing information.

Hicks angrily punched the reinforced hull on the side of the Dropship's passenger bay "God Damned that General Esdeath!" For the past couple of hours, Najenda has been explaining every detail of the Empire's history, the creation of the Imperial Arms, the Corruption and Cruelty that has consume the present day Empire. Of Prime Minister Honest and his pawn underlings influencing the child Emperor into ignoring the suffering of his impoverished people brought upon by the senseless violence and cruelty done by Imperial Soldiers and Privileged Nobles alike. Especially from Esdeath, who is revealed to take great pleasure in torturing and tormenting others for her enjoyment. And most of her subordinates who work for her were twisted murdering deviants, like her Three Beasts as well as some members of the Jaegers.

The Marine Corporal was no stranger to the heinous acts, people were capable off. As a Colonial Marine, he had to fight and kill people, such as those. Colonial Insurrectionists, Interstellar Smugglers and Pirates, who most often done terrible deeds to hostage Terraforming Colonists, Cosmic Freighters, and Charter Crews with passengers. And him and his fellow Marines would have to clean up the mess afterwards. But he's never even heard of the horrors, the Empire and its denizens were committing "She was there. We had her right fucking there!" growled Hicks "I had her in my sights. And all I did was cut and run." He seethed in anger at the missed opportunity to get rid of a Monster like Esdeath.

Najenda and Ripley had to calm him down. "She's much more powerful than you could've imagined." explained Night Raid's leader "She would've killed you, and destroyed your dropship" Ripley placed a reassuring hand on Hicks shoulder "She's right, Hicks. You couldn't have known, who these people really are. You've made the right call, in getting the Hell out of there." The Corporal was starting to simmer down, and the Former Warrant Officer continues "You're smart enough to think about the big picture by now. The Aliens are in this World with us. And if we don't do something about it, everyone here will die. You know that, as well as I do." She turns to Najenda, who nods in agreement "Besides. Fortune may yet smile on us." She turns to Susanoo and takes a map from him. She places it on a tall crate to show the Marine a certain area on the map "It's become apparent by now, that the Jaegers and the Aliens will have crossed paths. We're hoping that the ensuing fight will eliminate both sides. If that were to happen, we'll be killing two birds with one stone and our enemies will both be eliminated for us."

The PA speakers in the ship's passenger cabin crackled to life, as Bishop spoke into his headset from the cockpit "This is Bishop. There's an update from the Revolutionary Army, regarding the recent battle observed by their scouts. They say that the scouts have just returned to base with news on the battle's outcome." Najenda, Hicks, Newt, and all the members of Night Raid anxiously gathered around Ripley. It was her idea to leave behind the transmitter, and train some Revolutionary Personnel for long range communications between Headquarters and Night Raid. This arrangement would allow for both parties to remain in contact on a constant basis. When everyone inside the passenger bay, were listening intently, Hicks sounded off "Don't keep us in suspense, Bishop. What's the word?"

"The Aliens and the Imperial Army have most certainly came into contact with each other. A major battle took place, and both sides suffered heavy losses." All around the passenger cabin, everybody started celebrating. Mine and Chelsea threw their arms around Tatsumi, impulsively. Leone came at him from behind and pressed her large breasts against the back of his head. Lubbock tried to run towards Najenda to embrace her, but was stopped short by her mechanical prosthetic arm held out against him. Newt hugged Ripley by the waistline and Hicks patted her back in congratulations. Only Akame remained somber, as she couldn't help worrying for the fate of her younger sister Kurome. Despite so much misfortune for everyone present, fate may have given a chance at victory.

Until Bishop spoke again, and relayed the remaining contents of the report "It's been confirmed, there's some survivors from both sides. The Alien Queen, who was last seen fleeing East with her brood. And all members of the Jaegers have been spotted retreating North with signs of injury to most of their group."

No one said anything as the long standing tension returned. Two of their most deadly enemies have failed to kill each other. And now, they're running loose towards unforeseeable paths. That makes them much more unpredictable and therefore, most dangerous.

Only Najenda and Ripley stayed optimistic after hearing the news. Night Raid's leader had already placed her hand on her chin and plotted and schemed for some way to turn the situation to an advantage. Similarly, Ripley tried to figure out on resolving the issue, but she still doesn't know enough about their current standing, to come up with a plan. She needs more information. So the former Warrant Officer turned to Hicks "Okay. I hope you're satisfied with what Najenda's been telling you. Now It's your turn. What happened, while you and Bishop were looking for us? How did you come to meet the Jaegers?"

Hicks took a deep breath and waited for Bishop to join them. The Synthetic Android set the flight controls to autopilot, and stepped out of the cockpit and into the passenger bay. The Corporal had everyone gather before him, when he stood next to the Science Officer and began explaining.

"After we came and found ourselves in this World, Bishop has been flying the Dropship towards random places and settlements in hopes of locating Ripley and Newt. We figured, if they were still alive and in this World, they'd head towards the nearest populated area for help. As we left the last place we checked, Bishop picked up on Ripley's transmission. After learning of the situation, Bishop had me build a probe to get the necessary data in order to make adjustments to our Navigational Computer." The members of Night Raid fidgeted, as they try to understand the technical details of the story. Thankfully, Newt stepped in and activated Spectator's Illusion Sight to help illustrate the story.

With the specific details no longer an issue, the Corporal resumed his story "After assembling the Probe, we set down on the outskirts of some sort of fortress, and buried it. Just as when we were about to leave, we were confronted by six people on horseback. We decided to ignore them, and were about to go to orbit. But, that's when they suddenly attacked us. Using some sort of small animal, it produced a humongous missile for one of them, a young woman, to fire at us." Amongst the members of Night Raid, Mine muttered to herself in a low voice "Seryu Ubiquitous". She looks back up and resumes listening to Hicks' story. "We evaded the initial attack, and neutralized it with the Ship's weaponry. That's when we changed our minds and entered a stand-off with them." The Corporal can tell by Night Raid's reaction, that aside from doing something as impressive as countering an assault from one of the Jaegers. It was still foolish of him to stay and face them.

Sensing that the Marine was making their guests uncomfortable, Bishop stepped in and narrated the story "Hicks opened a dialog with their leader, who introduced herself as General Esdeath, a top ranking officer of the Imperial Army, and the Leader of the Jaegers. And the self-proclaimed strongest in the Empire" Najenda cuts in with a quick remark "All of it is true." The Science Officer pauses to update his inbuilt database "Noted." And then, he continues "She said she attacked us, because she mistook us for people she's been hunting. Most likely, she may have mistaken us for Night Raid. As to why she would think that, is beyond my processors' computation." Najenda cuts in again, and explains "We keep a flying Danger Beast with a similar shape and function to your Dropship. So Esdeath would've surely mistaken you for Us." Everyone around, nodded in agreement.

Hicks steps up and takes over the story "And that crazy lady also said, that she wanted to see how we handle in a fight. Can you believe that!" Najenda responds "Most Definitely. She can no longer be defined as Human. Whatever her Imperial Arm, Demon's Extract did to her, it's permanently altered her physical self. She's become something that looks and feels human, but with infinite cruelty and a mania for fighting. Even the concept of love is foreign to her" she points at Tatsumi, who nods to corroborate her claim "She thinks she's in love with me. So she's kidnapped me and tried to take me as her lover, against my will." Hicks crossed his arms and processed one of Esdeath's wrongful deeds. No doubt, she's done far many and worse things to other innocent people. He noticed Leone, Chelsea, and Mine were standing there with fists clenched in anger. "Perhaps there's more to what happened to Tatsumi? Better to drop the subject, than set off a landmine" he thought. The Corporal went back on subject "So, she's not Human, and definitely no Saint. Could she be some sort of Demon? Whatever is wrong with her, me and Bishop picked up on it and set up a distraction to escape. A good thing, too. She moved towards us and seemingly made ready to attack. We were well up in the stratosphere, before anything could happen."

This time Tatsumi spoke up and explained to Hicks "She has powers that gives her to ability to conjure ice and have absolute control of it. She can summon millions of icicles at once, and hurl them at targets like arrows. Other attacks include, creating large ice spike to impale victims, giant balls of ice and pillars to crush opponents. Even a mere touch of her body can instantly encase victims in a block of ice. There seems to be no limit to her abilities." The Marine rubs his chin in uncertainty, while Bishop struggled to process this information without short circuiting. He finally gave up on updating already existing data, and creates a new data log on unnatural abilities brought on by these Imperial Arms. The Science Officer hasn't been this much intrigued by a new discovery, since the Xenomorphs.

"Her powers are definitely nothing to ignore. I mean, she battled an entire hive of Aliens and came out alive. I'm sure, she won't settle with only destroying their Hive. Seems like she's the kind to pursue a missed target and finish the job." Commented Ripley. Nobody around her argued against that assumption. "Forfeiture of her Humanity, and an unnatural Lust for battle. That's the price of her powers." Concluded Najenda, then she sounds melancholic "Aside from the Aliens, I'm afraid nothing in this world can match her strength." Everyone grew silent at her assessment. No one wanted to admit that Night Raid's leader was telling the truth.

And Hicks began to chuckle "You know what, Najenda? You're Absolutely Right! There is nothing In This World that can stop Esdeath!" everyone stared at him like he was some sort of Madman, especially when he grabbed Ripley by the shoulders as if to restrain her "We found the Sulaco. It followed us to this world and is currently up in orbit right now." The news caused so much feelings to a shocked Ripley. Joy, Relief, and Hope overwhelmed the former Warrant Officer and nearly made her fall to her knees. Hicks kept her steady and waited for her to absorb the news.

When Ripley regained her composure, she asked to confirm what the Corporal was telling her "Are you certain about that? You weren't just seeing things, are you?" Hicks only grinned excitedly, so Bishop answered the question "The Ship's up there, Ripley. The USS Sulaco is currently standing by, waiting for us to dock with it." Every member of Night Raid turned their heads up towards the sky. Somewhere up there, is the starship Ripley had described to them. A war machine, capable of laying waste to entire cities. And a surefire way to turn the tide in fighting the Jaegers and the Aliens.

"Well, the Sulaco will just have to wait a little longer" declared Ripley. She turns to Najenda and places a hand on her shoulder "We still have a job to do."

 **Jaegers' Quarters, Royal Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

"General Esdeath! This is Unacceptable!" yelled an Imperial Doctor, as he tried to shoulder his way past Esdeath, who was blocking him from entering the conference room in order to look at Bols. An hour has passed since the Jaegers arrived at the Palace Gates, where they landed their Bird Wyvern and disembarked. They carried Bols, soon after and set him down on a couch in the conference room. When the Imperial Doctor got word of the Jaegers arrival and the Creature that had attached itself to Bols' face, he immediately confronted them and tried to get them to follow quarantine procedures and to report to the infirmary. The General was not complying. In fact, she had Run go off to notify Bols' wife and daughter, and to bring them here to visit.

The doctor became more disheveled "This is getting out of hand. For the last time, you all must obey quarantine procedures and come with me to the infirmary-" he stops short, after Esdeath conjured a sword of ice and pointed haphazardly at him "I am not handing any of my Subordinates over for you to poke and prod to your hearts content. Not until I've exhausted all means to remove that Creature off of Bols' face." The doctor paled, but stood his ground. He knew he was only thinking of the safety of others, by sticking with protocol.

Wave and Kurome ran up to them, bringing news that had prevented the imminent mess. "Ma'am! It's Bols. Something has happened." Informed Wave. Esdeath lowered her ice sword and turned to him "What's going on?" she demanded. "It's better if we show you." Said Kurome, as her and Wave lead a curious Esdeath and an intrigued doctor into the conference room.

The four of them approach an unconscious Bols lying on the couch, with only one thing out of the ordinary. "Wave. Kurome. Where's the Creature?" asked a very perplexed Esdeath, as she points at Bols' free and clear face. The Facehugger has detached from the large Jaeger's face, and disappeared.

"We don't know, Commander. We just got back from washing up, and found him like this." Explained Wave. Beside him, Kurome was nodding in agreement. The blue haired woman surveyed the conference room, in an attempt to locate the little Creature. And then, something else got her attention. "Where's Seryu? She was supposed to look after Bols." She asked. Kurome spoke up "I crossed paths with her, back in the hallway. She was mumbling something to herself about going over the final procedures, towards reviving Koro." Esdeath fumed at the Seryu's lapse of insubordination, and was very near to considering her punishment. But she digressed to more pressing matters.

"Spread out! Check every crack and corner." Ordered Esdeath, and everyone present began searching the room, including the doctor who produces a sample collection bin from his bag. The Jaegers' leader hanged back and shuts the exit door to make sure the missing Critter doesn't escape through it. Wave looks beneath the table in the center of the room, and under the chairs. The Imperial Doctor goes through random desks and drawers. Kurome slowly walks towards Bols, and carefully looks under the couch he was laying on. There was nothing beneath the couch, so the teenage assassin stood up and look over her fellow Jaeger hoping to find some clues.

Without his mask or the Creature's smothering embrace, Bols' face was left exposed for all to see. Aside from a large patch of burns, Bols' face doesn't seem in anyway irregular. A strong chin, small round nose, cheekbones that can cut like glass, and a full head of blonde hair made up the features of his unmasked face. "He's quite attractive. No wonder, he was able to quickly nab himself a loving wife and daughter." Kurome thought, as a sense of envy sparked in her mind. "Will I ever get my family back?" she wondered, completely unaware of a long slick tail dangling a few inches above her shoulder.

Esdeath focused her attention on Wave, who stands up and shakes his head. He couldn't find anything. Both of them turned their gazes over at the doctor, who checks the last drawer and comes up empty handed. "Bols? Are you awake?" Kurome asked, while making an effort to try to get Bols to wake up. Suddenly, something plops onto Kurome's shoulder, causing her to scream and stumble back into Wave's arms. The sailor shoves the teenage assassin behind him and holds out his arms in defense.

They both look at what startled Kurome and recognize the Facehugger lying on the floor, where Kurome had stood. Wave delicately helps Kurome to her feet, while Esdeath and the Imperial Doctor stepped closer towards the unmoving Creature lying face up. The General raises her ice sword, and prods the Critters small body with the tip of the blade. It quickly clenches Its finger digits, causing everyone to flinch. Afterwards, It refuses to move again. "Looks like It's dead. Must have been a reflex, earlier." surmised the doctor, while he hastily scoops up the small body with gloved hands and places it in the sealed box.

Esdeath looks up at where the Creature was supposedly hiding and spots a set of lamps for lighting the room during nightly hours. "It seems like It came off of Bols' face, crawled up to where those lamps are, and simply died" she concluded, unable to determine why It chosen to leave Bols' face just to go hide in some nook and die off. "And why now, of all times?" she finally thought. The Jaegers' leader glanced over at Wave and Kurome, as they approach the doctor for a closer look at the dead Creature. She then turns to the Imperial Doctor himself "There. You have your sample of the Creature. You can go study it in a lab somewhere, and leave Us be." The doctor makes a scowl, but decides not to push his luck "Very Well. But, I must insist that you at least keep yourself and your team confined to your quarters. At least until we can determine, that you all don't carry the risk of some sort of contagion."

Esdeath makes a sigh, but concedes. The doctor takes his leave with his specimen, and walks down the hall and out the door leading into the Palace courtyard. Shortly after, Run steps through the doorway with Bols' wife and daughter following behind. They step into the conference room, where the majority of the Jaegers have been waiting beside a still unconscious Bols. Bols' wife and daughter immediately ran over to Bols with worry.

"What happened!? How did he turn out like this?" the Wife asks, while the Daughter was tearfully clinging onto Bols' right arm and began jerking at it "Daddy! Please Wake Up!" she cried, trying desperately to wake Bols up. Run had to step in to calm them down "We were out on a mission, when we encountered a Swarm of Mysterious Creatures. One of them took Bols by surprise and some small Animal wound up latching onto his face." He indicates the bandaged stab wound on Bols' shoulder "That's the worst of his injuries. When the small Creature got onto his face, he was rendered unconscious. But, all the same, his vitals were normal and he didn't seem to be suffering any further trauma. Other than that Thing refusing to come off his face, we figured no more harm was being done to him." Bols' wife was on the brink of hysteria, but started to calm down after watching her Husband lying on the couch in a seemingly peaceful slumber. She laid her head across the three scars across his broad chest, as she hears the steady rhythm of Bols' heartbeat. Run sets down next to her, and began to demonstrate Bols' steady life signs by measuring his heartbeat and steady breathing.

Esdeath beckons for Wave and Kurome to follow her into the hallway "C'mon you two. Let's give them some space. In the meantime, help me look for Seryu." Wave responds by pointing down the hall "Speak of the Devil."

The three Jaegers stare down the hallway and see their amber eyed comrade trotting happily towards them. In her mechanical arms, was a fully recovered Koro. Seryu kept up her merry trot, while Esdeath walked forward to meet her Subordinate halfway. "Greetings, Fellow Warriors of Justice!" Seryu began, while placing her biological Imperial Arm on her shoulder "Guess, who's just been brought back to serve Justice once more-" _Slap!_ her talking came to an abrupt stop, as Esdeath struck her hand across Seryu's face and slapped her. It came as a shock to everyone, except the blue haired General.

Seryu overcame her initial shock and spoke in an exasperated voice "But, why? Commander?" Esdeath explains with cold fury "Because, I gave you a specific order to watch over Bols. But instead, you go off and leave him. Just so you can fix your broken weapon." The auburn haired murderess deign to argue "But, Koro is my partner. Together, we work to uphold the law, and serve Justi-" _Slap!_ The Jaegers' leader threw her Subordinate another slap "Enough with this Justice Bull Shit! You're a soldier! And soldiers obey their commanding officers, and work to support each other as a team!" Seryu's face screws up, as tears began to flow from her amber eyes. Koro growls at Esdeath, but the General merely throws him a surge of Killing Intent and forces him into whining and whimpering. The biological Imperial Arm knows well enough that the blue haired woman can kill him in 20 different ways, within the span of 2 seconds.

Wave and Kurome began to look away uncomfortably, in hopes to spare Seryu any further humiliation brought on by the disciplinary action. "I'm Sorry." Was all Seryu had to say, as she spoke weakly from beneath her tears. Esdeath gives her a hug, to show that she's been forgiven.

Suddenly, Run came bursting out of the conference room and called out to his fellow Jaegers down the hall "Everyone, come quick! Bols is Awake!"

One by one, the Jaegers came running into the conference room to check on their awakened comrade. Bols was sitting up straight on the couch, with his wife and daughter hugging him beneath each arm. The joy radiating from his blue eyes, confirm that he is indeed conscious and seemingly healthy.

"Welcome back, Bols! How do you feel?" asked a still concerned Run. Bols looks up at him and speaks with an evidently sore throat "Terrible. If I'm being honest." He then makes a grin to show that he is otherwise, okay. "Bols. What's the last thing you remember?" demanded Esdeath. The family man looks up at his commander with a look of confusion "Well. I remember, I was having a nightmare about smothering. If that makes any sense to you guys" all of his comrades shuffled uncomfortably. Neither of them were sure about how to explain recent events, that happened while he was unconscious.

Bols gets a good sense to change the subject and looks around the conference room "Hey. Can someone explain to me, where we are exactly?" Wave chuckles and answers "We're right here. At good old Headquarters."

Esdeath stares at Bols and makes a pleased smile "Well, it seems you're healthy enough. And I'm sure, you'll recover from your short term amnesia eventually. We'll fill in the blanks four you, when that happens." She turns to address all her Subordinates "I would like for all of us to report to the infirmary, and get verified of our state of wellness. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get cleared for duty. I want us back out where that Valley of the Mysterious Explosion took place, as soon as possible."

Everyone around her readily nods and began to walk towards the door, when a loud growling noise erupted out of Kurome's belly. The teenage assassin clutches her stomach in embarrassment "It think, maybe I should get something to eat first." Beside her, Wave grins and agrees "Yeah. I can really go for something to eat, as well." Bols began chuckling merrily "Well. How about dinner on me? I'm cooking." Run began to voice his concern "Bols. Are you sure, you're well enough?" But already, Bols was on his feet and bustling towards the kitchen. The other Jaegers began taking plates and silverware from the various drawers in the room.

In a few minutes, the conference room table was laden with pots full of stew, pans with curry and rice, and woks full of stir fry. The Jaegers sat down along with Bols' wife and daughter to feast on such a banquet. Esdeath sat on one end of the table, with Run and Wave at her sides. Kurome and Seryu eat at the center, across from each other. And Bols sat at the other end of the table, with his Wife and Daughter at his sides. Altogether, everyone began to dine with enjoyment.

"Boy. Am I glad you're still with us, Bols. It would royally suck, if we'd have to leave you here in the Capitol. And go through with the Mission without the opportunity to enjoy your cooking." complimented Wave, as he eagerly gobbled down a spoonful of curry. Beside him, Kurome quietly nods in agreement as she began to ladle some stew onto her bowl. Bols scooped up some stir fry with his fork and began to shovel it into his mouth. Run sets down his own fork, and makes a teasing comment towards Wave "My goodness, Wave. I'm beginning to think that, the only thing you care about Bols. Is the wondrous food he provides!" Everyone around the table began to laugh and chuckle, including Bols who tries to laugh with his mouth full of food. But winds up choking on it, instead.

Bols entered a coughing fit, as his choking became more severe. His Wife lightly pats him on the back, to help him clear his esophagus. But even as the food falls out of his mouth, Bols continues to cough sporadically. "You know, Bols. You should always chew your food and swallow properly, before you use your mouth for other purposes." Seryu commented idly, unaware of her comrade's worsening condition.

Bols quickly stood up, while continuing to cough. Then, he began to gasp and clutch his chest in pain. By then, Everyone around the table knew something was wrong, and scrambled over to Bols to see how they can help. His Wife frantically continued to pat his back, ignoring the fact that it wasn't doing her Husband any good. Whatever pain is in his chest, It's intensifying and causing Bols to scream out in agony. He starts to thrash wildly like a Madman, his arms and fist swinging everywhere and nearly missed hitting his Wife. She backs up in terror and holds her daughter close, unsure of what to do. Esdeath began to yell at her Subordinates "Don't just stand there! Restrain him, before someone gets hurt!"

Kurome was the first to reach Bols, and tried to grab him by the leg. The suffering family man falls onto the conference table and accidentally kicks Kurome, as he starts to convulse. Akame's Little Sister was sent flying towards the side of the room, with her back slamming against the wall. Her back, and the wounds on her neck throbbed with renewed pain, as she grits her teeth to overcome it. The same can't be said about Bols. He was still flailing about, his agonized screams becoming more intense.

"Koro! Arms! Hold him down!" Seryu orders her biological Imperial Arm, as he grew to midsized and used his expanded arms to restrain Bols by the shoulders. Run and Wave were the next to reach their pained comrade, and each grabbed one of his legs. Before anyone can suggest what to do next a violent, meaty crunch sounded off from Bols. The scars across his chest began to bleed, as a second crunch sounded out and his chest throbbed and pulsated from some unseen force. Bols suddenly became silent and still, as he went into shock. A third crunch sounded off and his chest erupted in a spray of blood, dousing Wave, Run, and Koro.

Suddenly, Bols chest wound exploded even wider with more blood and gore spraying out, as a small Creature came bursting Its way through the last bits of flesh in a high pitch squeal which echoed throughout the conference room.

Everyone looked on in horror at the Chestbursting Monstrosity, that had grown inside Bols' ribcage this whole time. Nobody moved or made a sound. They were too shocked and paralyzed with disgusted awe. The Chestburster make a low screech and tries to bolt across the conference table to escape. Only Esdeath snapped out of her stupor quick enough to conjure ice and freeze the Creature where It slithered. The Chestburster makes an aggravated squeal, as It writhed and wiggled to get out of Its icy prison.

"That's how They do it." Began Esdeath with morbid fascination and grim understanding "That's how these Serpents came into being. They capture you, and immobilize you by placing you in a cocoon. Then those Facehugging Parasites latch onto your face for a period of time. After you're impregnated with the Creature's Embryo, It comes off the Victim's face and dies." She points at the captive Alien Larvae "Sometime after. This little Chestburster erupts Its way out through your ribcage." The Jaegers reacted to this Revelation, with different responses.

Wave doubles over and vomits the curry, he had just eaten. Run calmly and quietly takes a rag from beneath his robe, and tries to clean the blood off of himself. Koro whines at having witnessed such a bizarre way for a man to be killed. Seryu's face warps into a frenzied state "For the love of all that is Justice, What the Hell are these Things!?"

"It's the Crawling Darkness." Kurome said meekly. All eyes turned towards her, as she recalls what she heard from the dying Imperial Captain and quotes "The Darkness has risen from our Hearts, to consume this Land. And now, It Wants Us." She sits up against the wall and hugs her knees "It Can't be Stopped." she desperately want her bag of sweets, to calm her down. But they were still on the table, near Bols' twitching body. The teenage assassin dared not come any closer to the body, so she hid her face behind her knees and whispers "Big Sis…save me."

Bols Wife began to sob openly at the violent death of her Husband. Her Daughter stares at her father's face as it permanently sets into a mask of torment and terror. The light rapidly faded from Bols' blue eyes. The family man Jaeger is dead, and his daughter is too far gone with shock and trauma to cry. But Her father's mask of death will certainly haunt her dreams, for the rest of her life. However long that would be.

The Alien Chestburster began to squeal loudly, as It continues to struggle against Its frozen captivity. The squeals grow louder and louder, as It calls for aid from Its Alien brethren. Wherever They may be.

 **Unknown Area in the Forest Wilderness, South of the Empire**

The Alien Queen was stomping her way through the forest trees, before coming to a stop. She turns her crested head back to where She came from, and extends Her senses. The Dangerous Lifeforms showed no sign of pursuing Her and Her Brood, after they had laid waste to Their entire Hive. Other than a few harmless animals scattered about the forest, no Danger Lifeform can be detected in the vicinity. She withdraws Her senses, and looks over the remnants of Her Brood left to Her. A vast multitude of the Horde have been slain, including Her three champion hybrids. However, a significant number of her Brood Warriors remain at Her side. Sadly, the Queen can understand that Her Warriors' lack the strength to hold Their own against the Dangerous Lifeforms. Without Her hybrids, only She can stand against the Dangerous Lifeforms. But, it would still not be enough. If the Aliens encounter the Jaegers again, while in Their current state, The Horde will surely be wiped out.

The Alien Queen and Her Brood must attain more Power. Fortunately, the Queen knows how to do it. She calls out for her Brood to come closer, so that She may have a closer look at Them. As her Warriors approach, She takes note of three Particular Ones at the front of the Swarm. Through Their bonds as a Hive, the Queen can sense a distinction within these three Warriors, that causes Them to stand out amongst the Others. She can tell, They are the Stronger, Faster, and much more Cleverer than Their Brethren.

The Queen stomps towards one of Her Chosen Three, and snatched It off the ground with Her large mighty hands. The Alien Warrior screeched in protest for being held in such a compromising position, and tried struggling to break free. The Queen's talons held the Warrior in place, and her smaller pair of arms seized the Warrior's mouth and forced it open. She then regurgitated a purplish fluid from Her fanged mouth, and spewed down the Warrior's throat. The Warrior unwillingly ingested the fluid and quickly ceased Its struggle.

When the Queen had finished transferring her Royal Jelly to her first Brood Warrior, She lays Its comatose body back down on the ground. She then spreads her senses over her entire Brood and willed Them to remain still. The Alien Queen next grabs her Second and Third Chosen Warrior, and repeated the process of feeding Them Royal Jelly.

When she had finished, the Three Warriors laid still on the ground in front if Her, undergoing the process of change. Body chemicals began to change in composition, and hormones are either repressed or accelerated. Pretty soon, these Warriors will form a chrysalis to undergo Their final stage of transformation. But in the meantime, They will be in a most vulnerable state. To remedy this, The Queen once again extends her senses as far as she could.

There. She detects a cave system, not far from Their position. Just as she was about to pull her senses back, something else gets Her attention. It very faint, but she can sense more of her kind down two different directions. The stronger signal lies to the Northeast, while the smaller fainter signal is straight up North. If she follows the larger signal, Her journey will be long and arduous. But if She reaches it, She might have a better chance at restoring Her Hive. And if she were to fail, or perhaps even perish. At least her Royal Guards will remain to continue the Species.

With Her decision made, the Alien Queen commands her Brood to move Her soon to be Praetorian Xenomorphs into the cave. And to have the cave's entrance sealed closed, for extra security measures.

When the task is complete. The Aliens began their long trek towards whatever waits for Them at the Empire's Eastern Border. They will move silently by Night, and They will rest and hide by Day. And if opportunity presents itself, They will try to slowly replenish Their numbers. Not even the Queen knows for sure, what lies ahead of Them. But there is one thing, She is absolutely certain about. There won't be any shortage of Breeding Hosts.

This World is full of Dangerous Lifeforms. If the Aliens are to Survive, They must Change, Adapt, and if necessary Evolve.

Chapter 4 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback will be appreciated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, the Jaegers resolve to find answers to the mysteries that have cost them dearly, including the life of one of their own. Night Raid and their otherworldly friends, go on the offensive. The Aliens temporarily disappear, as They move under the radar.


	6. Chapter 5

To All Readers: I was really worried if my last two chapters were too long to read. So I'm going to try to further divide the story into smaller chapters. After that, the action and intrigue should come much faster and sooner. Rest assured, I won't cut out any story material when I shorten the length of an individual chapter. Tell me what you all think. Thank you for your patience and enjoy.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 5: Transparency

 **Outskirts to the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

It was a couple of hours before sunrise, when the Dropship touched down on a barren landscape on the outskirts of the city of Kyoroch. Najenda explains to all of the ship's occupants, that they are to hold here until someone from the Revolutionary Army Spy Team comes into contact with them.

In the meantime, Hicks was asking about sharing the back stories of Night Raid's other members. Only Mine protested outright "Why do we have to let you in on our personal histories? What does discussing our past, gonna solve anyway?"

Hicks made an annoyed frown "Because, Mine. I've already violated a dozen military regulations, by bringing you all onboard and flying to some assassination mission. And I'm about to break another few dozen more, once I fill you in on Colonial Marine Battle Capabilities, Weapons Information, and Ordinance Loadings. I don't want it to be written somewhere, that I divulged Classified Information to a bunch of complete strangers and gave them access to Marine Technology." The pink haired gunner took the hint and conceded. She eyes the weapons cache at the back of the ship, with excitement. The Corporal was going to share his highly advanced weapons and equipment with Night Raid. Telling each other's sordid pasts was a rather easy condition to fulfill.

Ripley vouched for Akame, so that the red eyed assassin doesn't have to share her story if she didn't want to.

Leone declined to share her own story, citing that she's managed well enough using her own Imperial Arm.

Lubbock kept his brief, saying he was the 4th son of a wealthy family. He followed Najenda during their time as soldiers of the Imperial Army. Even if she had defected or not, he would still follow her regardless.

Being a biological Imperial Arm, Susanoo needn't explain himself. Although, Bishop curiously asked how Su was built, as well as wanting to know what Imperial Arms are exactly. And, he also wanted to know how exactly Imperial Arms were created. No one could say for sure, so they offered a brief list of known Imperial Arms with their names and abilities.

Najenda began to explain "All we know at this point, is that most Imperial Arms are made from the remains of rare and extremely powerful Danger Beasts. Others were created using a rare material called Orichalcum. And some sort of Magic was utilized to engineer their creation." Bishop was unconvinced about that last part. His programming reasoned, that there is a scientific explanation to the creation of Imperial Arms.

Najenda went on explaining "We currently have 12 Imperial Arms in our possession. But, the Empire definitely has more than us. And only the ones used by the Jaegers are the only ones we know about. In the time they were created by the First Emperor, a total number of 48 existed. As the centuries went by, they became scattered throughout the land. Often winding up in some noble's collection or in a warlord's armory. Most people don't even become aware of possessing an Imperial Arm until they try using one and determine their compatibility. Needless to say, they are the Most Powerful Weapons in the World."

Hicks idly thumbed the ribbed texture of his Pulse-Rifle's barrel shroud "If you say so." he murmured nonchalantly, as he made a quick glance at the Dropship's weapon cache.

Night Raid's leader began listing the names of known Imperial Arms "We have Animal King, Lionelle" she points to Leone, who activates her Imperial Arm and grows cat ears, claws, a tail, and longer hair.

With the speed of a superhuman, Leone quickly reaches over to Hicks and plucked his combat knife from the sheath attached to his armor "Aside from superb speed and strength, my Imperial Arm has a nifty Trump Card, Regeneration." She takes the knife and cuts a length of her hand. The cut was quickly healed, as Regeneration activates "I can recover from all but the most devastating of injuries. Even a severed limb can be reattached with the right tools" she gingerly hands back Hicks' knife who makes a smirk and accepts it.

Lubbock steps forward and holds up his gloved hands "Hicks. Bishop. My Imperial Arm is called Infinite Uses, Cross Tails. It's a specialized set of crafting gloves with a spool of special strings attached. These threads have a variety of useful properties, like ultra tensile durability, elasticity, and even a degree of sharpness. I can erect barriers for tracking and trapping intruders, weave extra layers of armor for myself, and even braid together a pole arm. To name a few." Hicks' smirk remain "Terrific. So you're a glorified seamstress."

Ripley raps her knuckles against the side of Hicks' helmet "Don't underestimate Lubbock. His Imperial Arm kept us safe from an Alien attack, back at Hadley's Hope." The Marine makes a serious face and nods in understanding. The former Warrant Officer gives Lubbock a thumbs up, and the green haired defense operative smiled in appreciation.

Najenda resumes speaking "Of course you know about my Imperial Arm The Speed of Lightning, Susanoo" she gestures towards Su, who bows in front of Hicks and Bishop. "And you're certain, you can't explain to us about your exact origin Mr. Susanoo?" asked the Synthetic Android. The Humanoid Imperial Arm shakes his head "I'm sorry Bishop, but it doesn't really work like that. I can recall events during the times in which I've been activated by a given user. When I become dormant, everything before and between is nothingness. If that's the right word."

Bishop mused over the info "I'm the same. During periods in which I'm offline for maintenance and repair, I must first be deactivated and placed in a state of inactivity. I guess people would refer to that as Death. Although, such a concept doesn't seem to bother me." Susanoo nods in understanding "Same Here."

Hicks makes a concerned scowl and bumps his fist against Bishop's shoulder "Not cool, Bishop. You should always be bothered by the concept of Death. Once it happens, it's all over. I know you're programmed with minimal self awareness. But at least think of the people you'll be leaving behind."

Tatsumi steps up next to Susanoo and does the same "You too, Su. I've already lost some of my friends, and can't stand losing you as well." Hicks turns towards the green eyed fighter in curiosity "Hey, Tatsumi. Do you mind sharing your story? A person as young as you, shouldn't have eyes as distance as yours. And from what I understand, everyone fighting the Empire has lost something or someone important to them. So, tell me. Who did you lose, to have started down this dangerous path?"

Tatsumi makes a grim expression, but he finally takes a deep breath and speaks "Their names were Sayo and Ieyasu. We grew up together, in the same village. The village itself was very poor, and as soon as we grew old enough, we left to enlist in the Imperial Army. We were hoping to rise through the ranks, and earn money to help our impoverished village." Tatsumi began telling his back story to Ripley, Hicks and Bishop. Beside him, Newt insisted on displaying his story through Spectator's Illusion Sight. Both parties agree to see every tragic detail of morbid events, leading up to the green eyed fighter's joining of Night Raid.

("They see a young Tatsumi step into the bustling city of the Imperial Capitol, and head straight towards a recruiting office. Shortly afterwards, he's thrown out onto the street with a brow-beaten staff officer telling him, the Imperial Army has no vacancies due to the recession. Soon after, he meets Leone who subsequently swindles him out of his money.")

Ripley, Hicks, and even Bishop throw Leone a nasty glare, before continuing to go over Tatsumi's story.

("Now that he's penniless and nowhere to go, Tatsumi was left with no choice but to sleep on the streets. Until, a young noblewoman named Aria offered to take him in. In time, the green eyed fighter learned that all is not what it seems with Aria and her Family. When Night Raid came to eliminate them, Tatsumi stood against them and put up a valiant fight with some amount of skill. Before either of them could successfully kill each other, he is shown the horrid truth about Aria's family. In a secret building at the back of the estate, Tatsumi is shown a prime example of the Empire's Evil when he sees a large torture room full of dead bodies and dying people.")

Ripley gasps in a low voice and covers her mouth as she views the mutilated bodies of torture victims. one them in particular, was a young woman with long black hair, stripped nude and strung up, and missing a leg. Hicks makes an angry growl, as he lay eyes on the multitude of murdered innocents and the two who are revealed to be Tatsumi's missing friends. Only Bishop remained silent while watching the grisly scene play out in front of them.

("Tatsumi confronts a cornered Aria who denies the crime at first. But, she finally confesses freely about having tortured Sayo to death for such an insipid reason as having smooth and straight hair. Without hesitation, the green eyed fighter takes his sword and cuts down Aria in a single stroke. Later, after Ieyasu dies in Tatsumi's arms he departs along with Night Raid into the dark of night. In time, his friends are buried on a hill and he himself joins up with Night Raid as an assassin. Over the course of his experience as the newest member of Night Raid, Tatsumi fought significant battles and encountered many dangerous enemies. Like Captain Ogre of the Imperial Police, and Zank the Beheader from whom he had acquired the Omnipotent Five Sights, Spectator. His run in with Seryu, who will kill Sheele later on using the Magical Beast Transformation Hekatonkeires, AKA the biological Imperial Arm, Koro. His battle against Esdeath's Three Beasts, from whom Night Raid was able to acquire three more Imperial Arms including Military Music Dream, Scream, Double Bladed Axe, Belvaac, and Water Dragon Possession, Black Marlin. The death of his mentor, Bulat who entrusts the Imperial Arm, Incursio into Tatsumi's keeping. His growing compatibility and aptitude with the Demon Armor, Incursio. His abduction by a love-curious Esdeath, and a formal meeting with the Jaegers including Seryu and Koro, Bols who wields the flamethrower Purgatory's Invitation, Rubicante, Run who is equipped with wings of the Thousand Mile Flight, Mastema, Kurome who uses the katana March of the Dead, Yatsufusa, Dr. Stylish with the Glorious Hands of God, Perfector, and Wave in Carnage Incarnate, Grand Chariot which is a black armor Imperial Arm that is both similar and superior to Incursio. In time, opportunity appeared, and Tatsumi narrowly escapes the Jaegers and reunites with Night Raid. A short time after, Dr. Stylish tracks Night Raid to their hideout and besieges it with his own personal fighting force. The Doctor was killed towards the end of his assault, and Night Raid was able to recover Sheele's confiscated Imperial Arm Cutter of Creation Extase along with Dr. Stylish's Perfector. While on patrol, Tatsumi has a second encounter with Esdeath, and they were suddenly teleported to a mysterious Island full of colossal Danger Beasts.")

Tatsumi ended his story to current events. Ripley, Hicks, and Bishop sat back in their seats and absorbed the story with mixed impressions.

Ripley makes a sigh "Dammit Tatsumi. I had no idea, someone of your age had already been through so much. I'm sorry about your friends." Tatsumi makes a quiet nod and speaks "Their suffering is over now." He looks around at everybody "What matters are the ones who are still alive, who need me" all the members of Night Raid smile pleasantly at their young comrade's sincerity.

Hicks grinned "You're pretty tough kid. Guess that armor of yours can back up your words" the green eyed fighter touches the hilt of Incursio thoughtfully "I still got a long way to go, if I'm ever gonna live up to Bro's expectations" the Corporal steps towards him, and ruffles his brown hair "We'll be there with you, every step of the way." Tatsumi smiles and nods in appreciation.

Hicks looks around at everyone aboard the Dropship "Alright, who wants to go next? I think the only ones left are Mine and Chelsea." The two young women glared at each other, as if to goad one another into talking.

Finally, with a smirk Chelsea begins to speak "Alright, fine. I'll tell my story as to why I began working as an assassin for Night Raid. It started when I entered the employment of a sadistic Viceroy, who took joy in hunting down innocent people and killing them like wild game. I despaired upon learning the truth of the cruel nature of privileged people within the Empire. Until one day, I heard a rumor of a certain treasure that the Viceroy keeps in the basement of his mansion. Word has it, that this item was an Imperial Arm that was shut away to await a suitable wielder to come along. I found this Imperial Arm, and was able to bond with it. Using Phantasmagoria, Gaea Foundation, I slew the Viceroy in secret. As a result, a better and kinder Viceroy took his place. That's when I realize, I can use my newly acquired abilities to fight the corrupt Empire and bring about change. I joined the Revolutionary Army shortly afterwards."

Ripley kept silent as she processed Chelsea's story. Beside her, Hicks whistles in admiration "That's quite a noble sentiment, to dirty your hands by taking a life, so that others may benefit from such actions. Especially when you could have easily looked the other way and go on with finding your own happiness."

Chelsea makes a forlorn look "The original plan was for me to work hard, find and marry a rich nobleman, and live out my life in luxury. But when I saw firsthand of the evils committed by the Empire's Nobility, I couldn't ignore it. I felt compelled to do something about it, even if it means killing." To her surprise, Newt walks up to her and hugs her by the waist "You're very brave, Chelsea. You're such an amazing woman, just like Ripley. And you're very pretty." The glamorous assassin and the former Warrant Officer, both made a pleased chuckle. The red haired young woman strokes Newt's blonde hair and she plants a kiss on her forehead "Thanks kiddo. That's real sweet of you."

Ripley pats Chelsea on the back "When this is all over, Chelsea. I hope you'll find the right man, and settle down. Maybe, raise a family?" Chelsea smiles and blushes, as she eyes an unsuspecting Tatsumi "I hope so, too. And soon." Only Mine had noticed her ogling the green eyed fighter, and she felt herself going red in the face and becoming angry.

Deciding not to be shown up by Chelsea, Mine steps to the center of the crowd and follows up on her turn to talk "I'm only telling why I'm fighting the Empire, and nothing further. Got it?" she turns to Hicks, who nods his approval. The pink haired gunner clears her throat and speaks "Not many of you may have known this. But I'm part Tribal. There's foreign blood in my veins, from the Western Tribes." Everyone listened quietly, as Mine revealed her true heritage.

After a moment, Tatsumi spoke up "Geez, Mine. I remember, you telling me about that. But, I think We can all agree, that it doesn't really matter now. None of us are bothered by where you came from, Mine." The genius sniper makes a scowl "It sure as Hell matters to most people within the Empire! They often mistreat and discriminate individuals who are born from a different nation. That's why I fight! So that I can bring about a world, where people aren't hated for being different. And I'll take down anybody that gets in my way, with my Roman Artillery, Pumpkin."

After explaining herself, Mine notices her eyes were teary. She sniffled and wipes her face with her sleeves. When she lets down her arm, someone else's wrapped theirs around hers in a tight embrace. She immediately blushes, after realizing Tatsumi is hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry, that you've had it so rough, Mine." He loosens his embrace and held her by the shoulders "We'll definitely create a world, where everyone can be appreciated and treated equally. No matter, they're differences."

Hicks steps towards them and follows up "Nationalism as well as Racism were alive and well, back in the world We came from, Mine." He turns to Ripley and Bishop, who both nod in confirmation. "But through the course of Our history, We overcame Our differences and stood together in Our common interests of progressing together as a society. And it was only made possible, by Individuals who suffered the same prejudice that you've been through. Without the people who were just as determined and courageous as you Mine, we would've never changed for the better. And We would still be bound to the Earth with Our petty squabbles. Never thinking to put aside Our differences, to reach for something greater than the vastness of Space and the Stars beyond." He finishes and Mine grins in relief "Thank you Hicks. I believe in what you're saying. And you too, Tatsumi." Tatsumi releases her and steps back with a slight blush in his cheeks.

Hicks turned aside and noticed Akame was staring at him intently "Did Slavery exist in your World, Hicks?" The Corporal was taken aback by the question, but he answers with a grim expression "Yes, Akame. Slavery did existed once upon a time in Our history. But like all things amoral, it was eventually abolished. We learned long ago, that every man, woman, and child had the right to live freely in any way they choose." Akame's red eyes lit up in admiration "And just like that? Everyone is free to choose where they can go, and how they may live? It sounds like You were able to do away with every problems that still plagues This World."

Hicks maintains a serious face, and continues explaining "But, even when Slavery, Racism, and every other dark aspect of the human nature were done away with, it was never wiped away completely. There were always those who would disrupt the peace for their own nefarious reasons and illicit schemes. Fortunately, there are also those who would put their lives on the line to ensure such Evil will never spread throughout the Galaxy. The United States Colonial Marines Corps' mission will always be about bringing Freedom and Peace, for whoever is in need of it."

Najenda raised her eyebrows skeptically "This sound like some sort of hustle. Do you really mean what you've just said?" The Corporal raised his hands in defense "Don't take my word for it. We have a computer database containing documents and records of Mankind's long history, back aboard the Sulaco. You can see irrefutable proof, that the Colonial Marines fight for a Free and Safe Galaxy."

Akame was beside herself with excitement "Will you really take us to your ship? Are you really going to show us everything you have?" Hicks makes a sly grin and nods his head. The red eyed assassin's crimson eyes sparkled "Your World sounds amazing, Hicks. I wish, I could visit someday." The Marine approaches her with a caring expression "You may just get your wish, Akame. Real soon, too."

Ripley throws the Corporal a look of concern "What do you mean, Hicks? You sound like you know a way of getting back to Earth." Hicks grins again and gestures for Bishop to step forward "Our Science Officer has a working theory, that may not be as farfetched as it sounds."

All eyes rested on Bishop, who takes a moment to ready an explanation "We think, the Derelict may have came to this World with us. We also think, the Derelict might be responsible for transporting Us, the Aliens, the Hadley Colony, and the Sulaco, using some as of yet unknown technology to accomplish the feat."

Ripley processed this theory long and hard "Could it be? Is it really possible?" Leone joined in on the conversation "Are we talking about the same Derelict, that Ripley and the Nostromo crew found?" Lubbock also adds "And this is the same Alien Ship, the colonists found and which brought on their destruction?" he then feels a hard bump against his head, when Najenda berated him for not being considerate towards a present Newt. The little girl didn't seem bothered by the question though, she was too focused on Bishop to provide an answer.

"Like I told Hicks, before. I don't have concrete evidence on whether the Derelict is here or not. But you mentioned it yourself Ripley. That vessel itself, wasn't anything like our own starships." Bishop replies "And that Ship did have a purpose, which was to transport the Aliens and keep Them safe."

Ripley went back to thinking hard and spoke aloud "If only there was some way of finding out where the Derelict could have ended up. And We don't even know what the Goddamned Thing looks like."

Much to everyone's surprise, Newt spoke up "I…I think, I do." Everyone's attention shifted towards the little girl. "What are you saying, Newt? Have you actually seen it?" Ripley asks, and Newt activates Spectator's Illusion Sight and displayed an image of an oddly shaped starship for everyone to see. The vessel resembles a smooth oblong shaped horseshoe. "Me and Timmy were riding with our Mom and Dad, on one of their work surveys." she revealed "Dad found something on his scanner, and drove us to this weird spaceship."

Newt takes a deep breath and concentrates on showing the events of the Jorden family's discovery of the Derelict.

("Out on the rocky terrain of a barren planet, a large eight wheeled vehicle crawled its way through a turbulent storm. Inside the crawler, the married couple, Anne and Russ Jorden were busily navigating their tractor safely through the harsh and distorting weather. In the back seats were their children, Newt and her brother Timmy. They were arguing about how all the kids in Hadley's Hope think Newt was a cheater in their favorite game they played in the colony's ventilation system. Timmy accused her of using her small size to go into places, the other kids couldn't fit into. Newt simply declared defiantly, that's why she's the best at the game.")

Chelsea and Mine chuckled at Newt's rebellious streak. Both had to be shushed by Najenda, and they resumed watching the live image continue on.

("Their mother, Anne turned to face them and tells them to stop fighting and warned them to stop playing in the colony vents. Suddenly, her husband Russ calls out to his family and stops the vehicle. The Jordens turned their gazes towards the front of the crawler's windshield and out at the gloom of the storm. A bright flash of lightning illuminated the area, revealing the smooth organic shape of the Derelict ship.")

Hicks, Bishop, and all of Night Raid watched quietly, as the story plays out. Ripley was standing behind Akame and Tatsumi, and they can both hear the former Warrant Officer swore under her breath "Damn you, Burke…God Fucking Damn You…" The red eyed assassin and the green eyed fighter chose not to inquire what she was talking about, and instead continued to watch Newt's tale.

("Russ and Anne stepped out of the crawler, donning jackets and breathing masks. Anne tells Newt and Timmy to stay put, and not to venture outside of the vehicle. The two children watched quietly, as their parents explore the ship's exterior before walking into a small opening on the side. Newt sat down next to her brother and waited patiently for their parents to return. A long time has passed, and Newt wakes her napping brother to tell him their parents have been gone for so long. Timmy addresses her as Rebecca, and assures her that their dad knows what he's doing. Suddenly, the door to the crawler swung open and their mother Anne hastily grabs a communications device off of one of the seats, and begins calling for help from the Colony. Newt looks over her mother's shoulder, and sees her dad lying on the ground. And on Russ's face, an abominable Alien parasite had latched on and was smothering him. Newt lets out a long scream, that wasn't ending anytime soon.")

"Alright, that's enough!" Ripley cried out, as she stepped towards Newt and grabbed her by the shoulders "Enough, Newt! No more, okay?" The vision of the Colony's impending doom faded away to nothing, leaving an exhausted and teary-eyed Newt. The little girl sniffled and quietly nods, and the former Warrant Officer led her to one of the Dropship's passenger seat to recuperate.

Hicks walks up to them and asks smartly "Still think, we should've taken Burke back with us?" Ripley shot him an annoyed glare, but didn't answer and continued tending to Newt.

Mine also walks up and asks "Your real name is Rebecca? I always thought is was just Newt." Newt recovers from her exhaustion and answers "Newt is my nickname. Nobody calls me Rebecca, except my brother." The pink haired gunner makes a grin "Well, Newt sounds a lot cooler anyway." Both of them giggled happily.

All around the passenger cabin, Night Raid discussed about the Derelict. "So that was the ship, that started this whole nightmare with you people." affirmed Najenda, indicating Ripley, Hicks, and Newt.

Ripley stands up and faces her "Yes. That damn vessel was the very cause to all our tragedies." she calmly strokes Newt's blonde hair "And if Bishop is right, It's what brought Us to your World along with the Aliens. It's done nothing, but bring Death and Misery to anyone who comes near it." The former Warrant Officer makes a delicate expression "But, It might be Our only chance of going home."

Akame's face furrowed with determination "Well, then that settles it. We have to find the Derelict before anybody else does." In a panic Ripley blurted out "You can't! It's too dangerous!", but Hicks clapped her on the shoulder "It may be. But we still need to try. It's still Our only means of getting back to Earth." The Corporal then hefts his Pulse-Rifle readily "Besides. We already know what's waiting for us there. When we get to that ship, we're going to destroy every one of those damned eggs. No one else will have to live through that nightmare ever again."

Ripley felt somewhat assured, but was still hesitant until Tatsumi spoke up "Hicks is right, Ripley. We already know what's inside that ship. We won't be taken by surprise." Mine also speaks up "You said, you wanted to rely on Our strength. And that you believe Night Raid can bring an end to the Aliens. Then let us show you, that your faith in Us hasn't been misplaced." the former Warrant Officer relaxes and quietly nods.

"You're all forgetting one thing." Najenda interjected "We still need to find the Derelict, and we don't even know if It's in this World. Or, how to go about finding It." Before anyone can come up with an answer, Bishop raised his hand and spoke "I may know a way."

Everyone turned to the synthetic Android, and listened intently. Then Bishop began to explain "It's a safe assumption, that Newt's family worked as a survey team also known as Wildcatters. Standard operating procedure requires that all prospecting Wildcatters have to log coordinates of their travel expeditions, into the navigational computer of their respective vehicle which is typically a Daihotai Tractor."

Newt affirms by showing the Jorden family's crawler with Spectator's Illusion Sight. An image of the eight wheeled all terrain vehicle appeared "Are you talking about this, Bishop?" she asks. The Science Officer nods in confirmation "Yes. If we can find that Crawler, we can collect more precise information on the Derelict's whereabouts."

Leone smiled at such a promising lead "Great! So where is this vehicle?" Newt answers "I saw it being parked in its garage, when Mom took me and Timmy back to the Colony." Bishop then explained the rest "And the garage is inside the Hangar." he paused for a few seconds "Right next to the Colony Operations building."

Nobody made a sound, when they all came to the same realization. Only Ripley said what everybody's thinking "We have to go back to Hadley's Hope…"

 **Jaegers' Quarters, Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

Kurome walked into the conference room, where Esdeath, Run, Wave, and Seryu were waiting.

"You're late." Esdeath remarked sternly. She had a map spread out on the conference table, displaying the Empire's southern border in detail. All around her, the other Jaegers were busily studying the map.

"Sorry." Kurome apologized, then explained "I just got back from the armory. I was in the vaults, trying out different Imperial Arms to replace Yatsufusa." Wave was the first to look up from the map and ask "So, were you able to find one?" the teenage assassin held up a Katana Imperial Arm with a black hilt and guard, and is sheathed in Yatsufusa's black scabbard. But when Kurome unsheathed the blade, the blade itself had an angry red color which radiated an ominous glow.

Kurome makes a pleased grin "Hell's Conviction, Muramasa. This Imperial Arm and I are compatible with each other." Run looks up from the map with interest "Muramasa. A Katana-type Imperial Arm that has the ability to endow its user with great power, usually in the form of enhanced speed and strength. The drawback, is that it places a heavy burden on the user. If the user isn't in prime health and condition, the power transfer could put the user's life at risk."

That got Wave worried "Kurome, are you sure you can handle something like that?" Before Kurome can answer him, Seryu looked up and spoke "Of course she can, Wave! Kurome's a Warrior for Justice! Only Criminals and Evildoers are weak and helpless."

Kurome was about to tell Seryu "Thank you", but she noticed Koro trotted up to her and was sniffing her. "Hello, Koro." Greeted Akame's Younger Sister, as she bent down to pet the biological Imperial Arm. Koro suddenly looks up at her and hissed threateningly, while baring his sharp teeth.

Before Kurome can ask him "What's wrong?", a growing pain started to emanate from her chest. While she started to keel over, Koro scurried away from her to hide under the conference table and hissed at her again.

Her comrades noticed her having problems, and they approach Kurome to see if they can help. Wave placed a hand on her and asked "Are you okay?", then the pain multiplied exponentially and the teenage assassin screamed out "Oh! GOD!".

Unable to bare the pain anymore, Kurome thrashed about and shoved a surprised Wave away from her. She felt something move inside of her ribcage, and she desperately looked at her fellow Jaegers "Please! Kill Me!" she screamed begging for someone to put her out of her misery. She rolled up her shirt, exposed her lower chest and stomach, and watched in horror as a smooth shape of "something" began to force Its way out from within her flesh.

Kurome sat up in her bed and screamed "No!". She was breathing hard and her sheets were soaked with sweat. She gazed wildly around, and realized she was in her room all by herself. She just had a nightmare. The teenage assassin placed a hand on her chest, and felt relieved when she felt her sports bra was still intact and no hole had formed between her breasts. She's safe and okay.

Kurome looked around her room and began to grow nervous. It was early morning, but daylight hasn't shown yet and her room was still covered in darkness. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but shadows.

Kurome hated the shadows now. They can hide Demons, and you'll never know when one of Them could be lurking within.

Akame's Younger Sister hastily lit the lamp on her nightstand, and cursed while sucking her finger when she burned herself in her rush to start up the light. The lamp's radiance covered the entirety of her room. Only small shadows remained here and there, which Kurome ignored. She can relax a little, as long as the shadows weren't big enough to hide anything that's large, slimey, and has sharp teeth, claws and a tail blade. Those Creatures now haunt the teenage assassin's dreams and memories, tormenting her with pain, helplessness, and loss.

Tears began to fall down Kurome's cheeks, and she wiped them while sniffling. She looks to her left and noticed her new Imperial Arm, Muramasa was lying right next to her. She picks up the Katana Imperial Arm and partially unsheathes the blade. The color of the blade radiated forth and bathed the room in ominous red. Power started to well up inside Kurome as Muramasa's ability activates and began transferring a small amount of energy into her body. She then slides the blade back into the sheath, and took comfort in the Imperial Arm's lingering energies. She had to be careful, and not use the Imperial Arm carelessly.

Kurome then recalled the time Run gave her that warning ("She meets up with her fellow Jaegers, as they exited the infirmary one by one. Kurome was the first to clear the check-up, and was led to the vaults within the armory, where she received Hell's Conviction, Muramasa. With her new Imperial Arm in hand, the teenage assassin returned to the infirmary, just as Seryu and Koro were cleared and released. Run was explaining to Kurome the abilities and shortcomings that came with her new Imperial Arm, when Seryu complained about how extremely invasive these check-ups were performed. Run turned to her and explained why the procedures were necessary, especially when the doctors had to be sure none of them were carrying any parasites like the One that tore out of Bols-")

Kurome shook her head and tried not to remember what happened to Bols, last night. Her comrade is dead. The Monsters killed him, and They did it in such a vile disgusting manner. Both Kurome and her fellow Jaegers could do nothing to stop it. They can only watch helplessly, and let it happen. All delusions of might and grandeur evaporated at that grisly moment.

The Serpents, The Crawling Darkness, or whatever They're called, They weren't like anything the Jaegers had fought before. Could the Jaegers even fight something that was never fully understood? Kurome couldn't fight Them, her Imperial Arm, Yatsufusa couldn't stand up against Them, and her commander Esdeath the Empire's Strongest couldn't defeat Them outright.

In the end, The Creatures easily took one of the Jaegers down with a single lowly facehugging parasite. A small clingy Creature that can latch onto your face and impregnate you with Its embryo, turning you into an unsuspecting host from which to breed and propagate the Species. All you can do at that point, is wait for the abominable Monster to erupt out of you. Or, you can kill yourself to prevent the horrific experience.

Kurome shuddered, as she once again felt her chest. Then, she explored the wounds received from the Large Green Serpent. The One that ambushed her and quickly overpowered her, before leaving her with grievous injuries as It runs away without finishing her off. Kurome's wrist was set right and healed, but the puncture wounds along the back of her neck weren't the same. It's been speculated that the wounds would take long for them to close, and the pain would take even longer to recede.

"Wave was right." Kurome thought admittedly "I need to hang back during the battles, until I am no longer helpless." She hoped her recovery would come sooner, because she'll likely be back out there when Esdeath has the Jaegers resume their mission to investigate the Valley of the Mysterious Explosion. The General will also want to keep hunting those Creatures, so that she can finish Them off and wipe Them out for good.

A part of Kurome really didn't want to follow the Jaegers' leader into going back out there. She's too afraid. Afraid of dying at the hands of the Monsters. Either torn to shreds by Their teeth and claws. Or worse, having Their young forced Its way down her throat, so that It may later rip Its way out of her body like It did with Bols.

Kurome shivered as the Fear griped her. She fought back a sob, as her thoughts drifted to the times she was ever afraid. She was young back then, and she had Akame to comfort her.

"Big Sis…" the very mention of her Older Sister, made Kurome's body ache all over with longing. She sorely missed Akame, and badly wanted her sister to return. Kurome looks up and stares forlornly at Muramasa, then she began to pull together her resolve. Those Creatures are still out there, and so is Akame. If the teenage assassin wants to get her sister back, she would have to go back out there herself and face the Serpents or whatever else is lurking about. Only then, could she find way to have a family again.

Daylight finally began to show through her bedroom window, and Kurome rose out of bed, ate a couple of drug-laced sweets, and started to get dressed. By the time she reached the door, her fears and anxieties were doped away.

 **Outskirts of the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Everyone aboard the Dropship just sat there, mulling over Ripley's announcement. Lubbock was the first one the speak up "Are you kidding me, Ripley!? We barely got out of there with our lives, and now you want Us to go back out there!?"

Ripley made a solemn expression "We need to find that Derelict. It's important, we find it first. No one from the Empire knows about it. But if they stumble upon it by accident, there's no telling how bad the damage will be if another Alien outbreak occurs." Still determined to argue, but lacking any means to do it, Lubbock turns to his commander.

Najenda sighs and speaks calmly "Look, the Empire is currently distracted with the Jaegers' encounter with the Aliens. It should buy Us some time to figure out, how we'll proceed. For now, let's focus on the task at hand. Then we'll later worry about where to go, and what to do." After Night Raid's leader finished talking, a loud knock echoed off from the Dropship's outer hull.

"It's the Spy Team. They've arrived." Said Najenda. But, Hicks stepped in front of her, while brandishing his Pulse-Rifle "It could be anybody. Better to be safe, than sorry." He approached the retracted gantry, and stood ready. Najenda walks up beside him "Easy, tough guy! I have a way to be sure." She points to his headset on his belt, and the Corporal hands it to her.

Following quick instructions, Najenda donned the headset and spoke into the microphone. Her voice blared over the PA system to the speakers outside of the Ship "The forests around here are no longer what they used to be…" From outside, a girl's voice sounded through the intercoms "But, the Owls are still around…"

"Hicks. It's okay. Open up." Najenda removes the headset and turns back towards the boarding steps. Hicks pressed a switch and the small staircase extended beneath the Ship's belly and touched the ground. A few seconds later the teenage spy and her muscled companion cautiously stepped up the gantry, and into the Dropship.

The young spy bowed her head and spoke "Greetings, Night Raid and uh…" Hicks stepped forward and slung his rifle "Colonial Marines, Hon. Or just Marines to put it simply." He turns to Ripley and Newt and gave them a slight wink.

The teenage spy bowed again in appreciation and resumes speaking "Greetings Night Raid and Colonial Marines. My name is Pais, and this is my partner Litone. We've come with an update on the situation, here in Kyoroch." She makes an anxious expression "It's gotten rather grim. The Rakshasa Demons have been active in eliminating Revolutionary Spies working in the city. They're somehow able to discern between civilians and spies, and started hunting us down ruthlessly. We've had multiple casualties in the past few days." When the briefing finished, everyone stood tense and alert.

"These Rakshasa Demons are more capable than we thought." commented Najenda "We need to plan accordingly, and find a way past them to get to Borick." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Hicks turned back to the spies and asks "Where is Borick, right now?" Pais takes a map from her companion and spreads it out on top of a big crate. She then places her finger on a small area in the city "He usually resides within his mansion during the day." She then points to an area in the center of town "And at night, he goes to the church to perform ceremonies and certain "rituals"." The young spy hugs her arms to herself and makes a disgusted face.

Ripley, Hicks, Bishop, and all the members of Night Raid studied the map closely. Hicks looks up and asks "So what are we up against? Have you learned anything from the enemy forces?"

Pais began explaining "The Rakshasa Demons are four warriors, who specialize in hand to hand combat. They use the rumored Body Manipulation Technique to take opponents by surprise." The Corporal looks confused "Body Manipulation?" Najenda turns to him and explained "They can twist and manipulate their bodies to any shape they desire. From stretching limbs to hit distant targets, to shifting internal organs to prevent critical damage." Hicks makes a "That's Fucked Up" expression but kept quiet.

The Pais resumes her explanation "They keep pretty close to Borick, most of the time. They only ever leave him when they're out hunting our spies, or when Borick himself is attending matters within the church. When that happens, only a small contingent of Borick's personal force remains to defend him. They're only common soldiers with no remarkable abilities." She bows to indicate, that's all she has to share.

Before anyone can say anything, Hicks spoke first "I have a plan." All eyes turned towards him and he takes a deep breath "We're going to assassinate Borick. Tonight…"

 **Throne Room, Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

The young Emperor sat upon his throne and sternly glared down at Esdeath, as she kneeled before him in front of half a dozen ranking government personnel. He was not pleased from what he learned about the Jaegers' performance on their last mission "General Esdeath. You have returned to the Capitol with an extremely dangerous and unknown Creature, that has already killed one of your subordinates. An entire platoon of our own Imperial Soldiers has been slain outright. And you have not yet reached the destination in which you and your team were ordered to investigate. How can I not see this as anything, but a Colossal Failure on your part?"

Esdeath chafed under the Emperor's scrutiny, and she began to think "Insignificant Little Shit! Doesn't he realize, I can flatten his precious Empire eight times over!?" but she refused to speak out. No matter what this kid ruler was saying, the facts remain the same. The Creatures have won a victory over her. They refused to die from her initial assault. They've given her the one and only injury throughout her military career. And They so cunningly taken out one of her own, in such a grotesque manner. Nothing she can do to this brat, who was berating her like some pampered snob, can change that. Her reputation as the Empire's Strongest, has been tarnished. Even now, she can hear the surrounding government officials whispering amongst themselves as they discuss how the rumored Serpents allegedly brought low their mightiest General.

A bearded portly man stepped out from behind the throne and interjected on Esdeath's behalf "Your Majesty, if you can do me the kindness of hearing what your humble servant has to say." The Emperor drops his scornful expression and softened up "Of course, Uncle. You know, I always listen to your wise words of advice."

Prime Minister Honest gave a low bow and a expressed a jovial smile "You praise me too highly, your Grace. I merely wanted to point out, that General Esdeath has always been your most loyal soldier. We may have lost a small portion of our military forces. But the General has managed to mitigate our losses, by devastating the Enemy in a crippling blow. And here she stands, alive and well, to continue to serve once more!" everyone in the throne room began to feel elated by the Prime Minister's reasoning.

Only the Emperor remained uncertain "I don't know. Perhaps if General Budo was in charge of the Expedition. Maybe things wouldn't turn out the same." Both Esdeath and Honest thought "Not that Stubborn Bastard!" as they withheld their contempt for the Leader of the Palace Guard.

Esdeath raised her head to look straight at the Emperor "Your Majesty. If I may be allowed to speak?" the entire throne room grew silent, as the Emperor glared at the Jaegers' leader for a moment. Then, he raised his hand and gestured for her to proceed.

"I ask that you send us back there. The Jaegers' mission is still not finished." Esdeath declared defensively "Our incursion with the mysterious Creatures has cost us much, including two Imperial Arms and some of our conventional weapons. As a leader, I felt it necessary to return to Headquarters and resupply for another attempt." She stands up and radiated Killing Intent "After all. I Am the most qualified in going back out there, to continue the mission on investigating the Mysterious Explosion."

Everyone in the throne room shivered and felt a massive sense of dread. Only Prime Minister Honest remained calm and passive. The Emperor hugged himself and felt cold for a while, until Esdeath finally relented.

The child ruler then regained his dignified demeanor and answered "Very well. You have my leave to continue the mission. I grant you clearance to use whatever means necessary, to get the job done." He stamps his ruler's scepter against the floor, as if pounding a gavel as a judge passing sentence "But, if you fail once more General Esdeath. I'll see to it, that you're severely punished for your incompetence."

Not wanting to put up with the kid's arrogance any longer, Esdeath makes a bow and exits the chamber. As the large doors to the throne room closed behind her, the General vents her anger and punches a marble pillar nearby "Dammit! I've screwed up this time! Can't believe those damned Bugs got the better of me!" she withdrew her fist, as it leaves an impressive hole within the stone pillar.

Esdeath looks behind her, and noticed Prime Minister Honest has followed her out of the throne room. "Don't be so hard on yourself, General. You know as well as I do, that moping and rampaging about it won't solve anything." The General glared at the fat Prime Minister, but said nothing. She was focused on regaining her composure, and figuring out what to do next.

Honest took advantage of the silence and gave her some news "We're currently studying the Specimen that you've provided us. It's quite a remarkable Creature. I'm having the top minds in our nation gathered, so that they can learn the Creature's capabilities." He then smiles mischievously "And, also to reveal any of Its weaknesses."

Esdeath makes a cocky smirk "Save your energy. When Me and the Jaegers go back out there, I intend to expose those Creatures weaknesses myself. It'll be the greatest hunt, I can ever hope for." She turns towards the hallway and began walking back to her quarters "But do feel free to share whatever info, you come across." She waves her hand behind her to bid farewell, and she steps out into the courtyard.

Honest's smile turns into a nasty grin "Not on your life, General. You couldn't kill all of those Creatures. And one of them even managed to get you to taste dirt. You've also went and wasted two of our Imperial Arms, during that debacle. You've grown so weak and useless now, it's pathetic!" He turns and looks far off "But soon, none of it will matter. If everything works out the way I planned, I won't have to rely on you and the Jaegers, General Budo, or even the Imperial Army for that matter!" He walks towards a hidden doorway off to the side of the corridor.

Before Honest can reach for the hidden door, a mysterious figure wearing a hooded cloak steps out of the shadows. "You seem to be in such a good mood. Got something interesting to look forward to?" the hooded figure asked. The Prime Minister grins menacingly "That depends. Did you do what I ask?" The mysterious person removed his hood to reveal a young man with an X-shaped scar across his face. "I sure did. They've received the invitations. And none of them refused." He answered.

Honest makes a pleased smile "Excellent. I could use someone of their skills. How long can we expect them to arrive?" Syura started counting off numbers in his head "Not long. Maybe a few days. A week, tops." Honest's smile receded "See to it, that they get here as soon as possible. Especially that woman. Her talents are what I need the most."

 **The Ocean, Out Past the Empire's Shoreline**

A large ship was cruising through the Ocean's waters. On board the ship's main deck, a young-looking girl in a dress and striped stockings suddenly sneezes "Achoo!" Beside her, a roustabout sailor asks "Hey, Little Missy. You're not coming down with a cold, are you?"

Dorothea wiped her nose with a handkerchief and answers "Nope. I'm sure some delicious hunk of a man was just talking about me." The sailor nods and chuckles, as he leaves the deck and enters the galley. Dorothea then walks up to the ship's prow, and stares out into the horizon towards the ship's destination. "Let's see what new discoveries, I'll find within the Empire…"

 **Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

Honest began to wave the scarred man away "Alright, I'll leave you to it. So get going! At this point, Time is everything. And we don't have much of it. I'll send for you, when you're needed."

With a bow, Syura dons his hood and disappears back into the shadows. Leaving Prime Minister Honest by himself "Now, let's see how our Guest is holding up." After pressing a switch, the hidden door opens up and the Prime Minister steps down a secret staircase leading into the underground levels of the Palace.

When Honest reached the bottom of the stairs, a door appeared to block his path. He fumbled through his pockets and produced a key. Using the key to unlock the door, the Prime Minister steps into the Palace dungeons.

As Honest made his way past several holding cells, an Imperial Scientist in a white lab coat and an operating mask came up from another set of stairs and approached him "Greetings, Sir. You've arrived just in time." The Scientist made a bow and hurried to the Prime Minister's side as he continued forward to the second set of lower stairs.

As they headed towards the dungeons' lower levels, Honest finally spoke "Report. What have you learned so far?" The Imperial Scientist fidgeted as he straightened up his lab coat and slid his mask off "Where do I start!? It's growth rate is astounding! It seemed to have reached full maturity, in a matter of hours."

Honest made an impressed expression, then responded "What else?" The Scientist continued to explain "Everything we've learned about the Creature so far, concurs with what General Esdeath described in her report. Aside from Its bizarre appearance, the Creature is large yet agile, extremely violent and vicious, and has concentrated acid for blood. Every inch of Its body should be considered a lethal weapon."

The Prime Minister and the Imperial Scientist have reached another set of doors at the bottom of the second stairwell. The Scientist produced a key and stepped forward to unlock it. He turns back and spoke once more "We're having trouble with containment." Honest raised an eyebrow and replied "Explain."

"Not long before your arrival, the Creature attempted an escape." Explained the Scientist "One of the guards was looking into Its holding pen, when he noticed the pen seemed empty. In a panic, the guard opened the door and walked into the pen to investigate. He didn't realize, the Creature was hiding in a corner of the ceiling right above the door. It killed the guard, and exited the pen. It went on a rampage shortly after, killing five more guards and two of our fellow Scientists. It had reached the door to the surface, when we were finally able to corner It. Using handlers in heavy armor, we've restrained It with snag poles. Two held the arms, one held that deadly tail blade, and one wrapped around the head. It started thrashing against the restraints, until more guards pointed rifles at It. Then, It finally stopped resisting and submitted."

The Imperial Scientist stopped speaking, and Honest continued to look impressed "Smart. It knows when the odds are against It. It knows how to make tactical decisions based on current circumstances. It probably knows, how we have no intentions to harm It. It's definitely not just some sort of mindless brute. It can think, plan, and act accordingly."

They stepped into a dark room lined with holding cells. All around them, soldiers and scientists bustled about studying paperwork and readying weapons. Towards the end of the room, a small squad of guards stood at attention in front of a set of bars to a large cell. "After we got It back in captivity, we put It in an open-view cell and quadrupled the guard surveillance." explained the Scientist.

Honest walked in front of the guards and peered inside the cell. At first, he couldn't see anything. But then, a glob of slime trickled down from the ceiling and revealed that the Creature was hanging from the ceiling above. The Prime Minister studied the Creature, as It lowered Its head and made a threatening hiss. Its inner jaws slid out of Its mouth, and slowly extended in Honest's direction.

The group of soldiers raised their weapons and stood ready. "Careful, Sir! It moves fast! And It's highly unpredictable!" one of them warned, but Honest simply held up a pudgy hand and silenced him. Then, he held up his other hand and made a slow waving motion. The Alien shifted Its head side to side, as It follows the hand's movements.

"I don't see any eyes, nose, or ears. How is It able to tell where I am, and what I'm doing?" the Prime Minister asks. A scientist called out and answered "We haven't yet figured it out. Not until we cut this Thing open and look at what's inside." Honest makes a frown of disapproval "Esdeath said, this Creature bleeds acid that can burn through stone and steel. I'd rather not damage this Thing, until we figure out a way on neutralizing the acid first. I'm bringing in some more people with expertise in that regard."

After a while, the captive Alien retracted Its secondary jaws and sat motionless along the ceiling. The guards relaxed and stood at ease, while Prime Minister Honest smirked. "This Creature is quite unique. It doesn't growl or whimper, when in captivity. It just sits there patiently, as if waiting for something to happen that can allow It to escape. Hard to describe this Thing as wild, and savage. It's actions are too precise, and subtle."

Honest waved one of the scientists over "What are Its feeding habits? And what exactly does It eat?" The Scientist went over a few notes he was holding, and started explaining "We threw in a live pig, this morning. The Creature stalked around for a minute, before It suddenly pounced and tore the pig apart. After that, It took a few bites of the meat and then retreated into a corner. It hasn't come back to eat what's left." The Scientist looked at some more notes "That's the only time we've ever seen If feed. During Its growing period, all It did was molt off Its skin in layers. It emerged bigger and in a different shape, every time It sheds."

The Prime Minister held his fat bearded chin in thought "Interesting. A killer that doesn't need to eat or sleep. Has no sense of pain or fear or moral ambiguity. A perfect soldier in every sense of the word. But soldiers obey commands and follow orders." He turns to the guards "I want 24 hour surveillance on this Creature. Keep a close watch on It, at all times. Work in rotating shifts. Bring as many men as we can spare." Honest points at their rifles "And no guns. Use restraints and nets, only. I don't want some half-wit firing his weapon by accident and risk killing It." the soldiers glanced at each other nervously, but no one complained. They obediently slung their rifles, and picked up non-lethal equipment instead.

Satisfied, Honest then turns to the scientist beside him "I want you to study Its behaviors and try to understand It." he ordered "We need to establish some sort of dialect, so It can respond to Our commands. Get a routine started and have It become familiar with you. All animals and Danger Beasts can be tamed, as long as you form a bond with them and earn their trust." The Prime Minister looks up at the Creature, as It crawled along the ceiling to rest in a corner "This Specimen shouldn't be any exception, from that approach." The scientist nods in understanding, and sits at a nearby desk to begin his observation.

Honest walks towards the first Imperial Scientist who approached him earlier, and spoke with him as they made their way back up to the surface. "I want you to build a proper facility for this Creature's study." he commanded "Set it up somewhere near the Palace. And be discreet. I want it heavily secured, and up and running within a week." The Scientist began to protest, but the Prime Minister places a hand over his mouth and shushes him "I'm giving you full access to all our available resources. So get it done, and spare no expense. I'll have some of my people move some funds, and change some numbers to cover your tracks." The Scientist then nods, and goes about his task.

Honest turns and makes his way back to the throne room, with a smug grin "This Serpent may be the key to Ultimate Power…"

 **Jaegers' Quarters, Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

Esdeath was in the conference room studying a map, when her Subordinates filed in. First was Run followed by Wave and Kurome.

"I've ordered you all to assemble here, half an hour ago. What took you so long?" the General asked irritably.

Run was choosing the right words to say without upsetting his Commander, until Wave speaks up and answers "We were attending Bols' funeral, along with his wife and kid. We came straight to Headquarters, afterwards."

Esdeath's expression softened, as she spoke "I'll arrange some financial support for Bols' family. They shouldn't worry about money from now on." Run and Wave smiled graciously.

Wave then makes a serious expression "What about the Creature, that killed Bols?" Esdeath smiles reassuringly and answers "Don't worry about It. I saw to it, that the Creature has been properly disposed of." The sailor Jaeger nods and believed every word, the General said. Only Run and Kurome remained uncertain. But neither of them felt, it was their place to call their Commander a liar.

Behind them, the conference door swung open, as Seryu and Koro ran inside and saluted "Sorry we're late everyone! Me and Koro were busy in Dr. Stylish's lab, scraping together anything we can use for a weapon." Esdeath waved them over and ask "How did it go?"

The auburn haired murderess held up a pair of weapons for all to see "Other than my Tonfa Guns, nothing else I'm afraid." She held up her Hookshot and the Justice City Detector "I've used up most of my Judgement of the Ten Heavenly Kings. And without the good Doctor, I can't build any replacements." Seryu handed them over to Koro for allocation. The biological Imperial Arm expanded his mouth wide open and gobbled down both equipment.

Esdeath shrugs "Well, they'll just have to do. I'm sorry, but we can't afford the time to find you any more armaments. We have to hurry and go back south of the Empire's border, and resume Our mission." Seryu nods, to show she understood.

Run walks up, and addresses the Jaegers' leader "The Jaegers are assembled and ready, Commander. Just say the word, and we'll move out." Esdeath holds up a hand to stall him "Just a moment." She takes one last look at the map and steps away from the conference table "Alright. Head out! Get to the stables, and prepare the Bird Wyvern for take off. I have something to take care of, first. I'll meet you there, once I've finished my errand."

Fifteen minutes later, most of the Jaegers were in the stables. awaiting their leader to arrive. Run was standing patiently, while holding the reigns of the Bird Wyvern.

Wave was on the flying Danger Beast's back, securing supplies and gear that Kurome was passing up to him. Once they finished, the sailor Jaeger reaches down and offers Kurome his hand. This time, the teenage assassin quietly took Wave's hand and allowed herself to be pulled onboard.

Beside them, Seryu was checking her Tonfa Guns to make sure they're fully loaded, before holstering them to her sides. Koro was idly sitting next two her.

Just as everyone finished their preparations, Esdeath steps through a large set of doors and runs towards the Bird Wyvern. "Are we all set and ready?" she asked. Run looked around and got affirmative nods from all of his comrades. Then he answers "It appears, so. Have you finished what you had to do?"

Esdeath smirks "Sure did. I've sent word out to my army, garrisoned North of the Empire. The orders are to come and meet Us down South, at the Valley of the Mysterious Explosion. They should arrive there in about a day or two." Run raised an eyebrow "That soon? How is that feasible?" the General only grins menacingly "I have my ways." She then makes an urgent scowl "No time, to explain. We're leaving, Now!"

The Jaegers settled aboard the Bird Wyvern, with Esdeath at the reigns. She tugs the reigns, and the flying Danger Beast stomped out of the stables, leapt into the air, and spread its wings. It soars high up over the Imperial Palace, before turning and flying down south.

 **Outskirts of the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Everyone aboard the Dropship, gathered around Hicks as he stands over a large crate with a map spread out on top. Across from him, Najenda was voicing her concerns "Are you seriously suggesting, We attack them tonight? We shouldn't be so hasty, Hicks. Let's gather more information, first." The Corporal remained insistent "We don't have that kind of luxury! You said it, yourself. Time isn't on our side, so we have to hurry up and complete the mission. Another day passes, and We could lose everything by then!" he looks over at the teenage spy, Pais and her large companion, Litone "And we've already lost plenty of lives, to get to this point."

Najenda sighs, and reaches into her pocket for a cigarette. She lights it and takes a puff, before speaking "So what's the plan, anyway?"

Hicks makes a determined expression "We lure these Rakshasa Demons away from the church. Draw out Borick's guardians and spread his defenses thin. And while his protectors are occupied, we strike hard and nail the Son of a Bitch."

Najenda smirked and responds in a sarcastic manner "It sounds simple enough."

Hicks kept looking determined "It's not" he admitted. "That's why, I'm asking you to do some fine tuning. You're the only Strategist, We have." he looks at all of the members of Night Raid "You lead a group of powerful fighters, so you all should have a good chance to pull off this caper." The Corporal then looks at Ripley, Newt, and Bishop "And We have the firepower and technology, to make that chance into a certainty."

Everyone from Night Raid demonstrated their readiness. Tatsumi smiles and gives a thumbs-up. Mine smirks and brandishes Pumpkin readily. Akame holds up Murasame in its sheath, and she makes a ruthless nod. Chelsea places a fresh lollipop into her mouth, and gives a wink. Lubbock holds up Cross Tail's gloves and makes a grin. And Susanoo was busy fussing over Newt, as he makes sure to clasp both buttons to her overalls. The humanoid Imperial Arm, then tries to brush the little girl's hair before the latter had to shoo him away, which he reluctantly did.

Najenda chuckles "Well, I can't argue with that." She takes another puff of her cigarette, and looks over the map "I can see why attacking at night, is a good move. Borick will be inside the church by then, right in the center of town. If we can somehow draw away the Rakshasa Demons from the church, and lure them far enough away from Borick and each other, we can eliminate Borick before anyone can come back to stop Us." Everyone murmured praise at the plan's basic layout and potential for success.

Hicks smiled in appreciation "Now, that's a strategy! Divide and Conquer. That'll be a classic way to deal with those Imperial Pricks." Bishop stepped in and calmly remarked "There's one small problem with this plan." All eyes turned towards the Synthetic Android. "And what might that be?" asked a confused Tatsumi.

"Bait." answered Ripley "In order for the plan to work, something or someone has to be the bait to lure out the Enemy." Tatsumi grew quiet, along with the rest of his teammates as a tense silence overtook the Ship's cabin.

"So, who's it gonna be?" asked Chelsea. Much to Everyone's surprise, Pais and her companion stepped forth "We'll do it." she said resolutely "The Spy Team of the Revolutionary Army will lure out the Rakshasa Demons."

Hicks was the first one to protest "You and your people have done enough already! You don't need to throw away your lives, like that!" he points to the members of Night Raid, and then to himself "We'll handle the Dangers from here on out. This is going to turn into a major battle between Us and Them. We can't risk non-combatants getting in Our way, when the shooting begins."

The teenage spy refused to back down, and makes a determined face "A whole lot of people are counting on this mission to succeed! Even if it only helps a little bit, we're prepared to give it everything we've got!"

Hicks was taken aback by Pais' declaration and was about to argue, until Najenda called for his attention "Hicks, you must understand. If We attempt to use Night Raid to lure out the Rakshasa Demons, the entire city will go on high alert. Don't forget, most of Us here are wanted criminals. The Empire's underlings would most likely put Borick under lockdown, and summon the Jaegers. The risks will definitely increase, if We had to contend with two groups of deadly opponents. We'd end up losing time and energy as a result, maybe even Our own lives." She takes one more look at the map, and makes a confident nod "Okay. I've figured out how we're going to carry out the plan. Everyone here, is going to have a part to play in this. So pay attention and follow your instructions precisely."

Everyone gathered around Najenda and listened attentively "We'll use two distraction teams, to combat the Rakshasa Demons and keep them occupied away from Borick. The two teams will set up an ambush on opposite ends of the city. One to the East." she points to an area on the map, that seemed like ruins at the bottom of a ravine "And one to the West." she points at a different area, that seemed like a graveyard on the other side of town. "The East team will consist of Tatsumi and Mine." Continued Night Raid's leader.

Mine and Tatsumi shifted attention, and glanced at each other before turning back to their Commander "Ma'am, are you sure you want me and Tatsumi paired up for this mission?" the genius sniper asked hesitantly. She sounded more unsure about herself, than with Tatsumi. Najenda answered impatiently "It can't be helped. Much of Our opponents' capabilities are still unknown, so we have to cover all bases on this one." Mine goes quiet and calmly nods.

Najenda makes another sigh, and resumes talking "Alright, moving on. The western team will be made up of Akame and-"

"Me" interrupted Hicks. Najenda grew uncertain with the suggestion "Are you sure, you're up for this, Corporal? I'm pretty sure, my team can handle it without you having to step in." The Marine shook his head to affirm, he wasn't making a suggestion "The distraction teams have to be made up of a gunner and a fighter. Aside from Mine, I am the only other person here who's most proficient with a firearm. And from what I can gather, Akame is most definitely a melee fighter."

No one aboard the Dropship can argue with his reasoning. Night Raid's leader just shrugs and accepts "Fine. If you insist. You'll accompany Akame to the West side of Kyoroch, and provide her with cover fire during the assault. Just be sure, not to shoot my best assassin by mistake." The Corporal cradles his Pulse-Rifle with a smug expression "That, I can certainly guarantee will never happen." Najenda cocked an eyebrow, and wondered along with everyone else, if the Colonial Marine was acting a little too cocky.

Only Akame felt sure about Hicks' assurance. The red eyed assassin gazes at the Corporal, and gives him an appreciative smile.

"Okay, we're getting off topic." Najenda explains "Next, is our contingency team. They'll act as support, and provide back up for the distraction team, while ensuring that Our Enemies remain separated. This should provide a clear way for the elimination team to reach Borick." she points to Lubbock "The contingency team will be made up of-"

"If it's alright with you, Boss. I'll just go it, alone." Insisted Lubbock. Najenda glares at him "Are you sure?" the green haired defense operative remained insistent "You know as well as I do, that I work best alone. Plus, we'll need as many people on the elimination team. In order to ensure Borick's demise, we have to nail him in one shot. A second attempt will be impossible, at that point." Night Raid's leader relents "Have it, your way then." She remarks.

Najenda takes one last puff of her cigarette and looks for some way to get rid of it. Bishop holds out his hand and takes the cigarette. He then placed it in a small waste disposal chute, and had it jettisoned out of the Ship. Night Raid's leader mouths "Thank You" before continuing to explain the rest of the plan. "We'll have Bishop, Newt, Ripley, Su, and myself standing guard within the Dropship. It's Our most capable means of travel, and Our only chance of getting to the Sulaco. So we must not let it be captured or destroyed, at all cost." She glances at Ripley and Hicks, as they nod in confirmation.

Najenda finally turns to her last two Subordinates "Leone. Chelsea. You're the elimination team…"

 **Above the Clouds, South of the Empire**

The Jaegers sat calmly atop the Bird Wyvern, as it soars over the Empire's Southernmost Outpost.

Run takes a look below and calls out "The Outpost looks intact. From what I see, there hasn't been a battle or any sort of attack." He sits back up and conveys his assessment to all of his comrades "It may be possible, those Creatures haven't came in this direction since Their escape."

Seryu, Wave, and Kurome peered over the flying Danger Beast's side, and looked down at the Outpost to confirm Run's assessment. Only Esdeath kept looking forward, as she guided the Bird Wyvern's flight path.

"That's good to hear!" said Wave optimistically "That means, They haven't opted to head North, towards the Empire. Our nation isn't at risk, so far." Seryu makes an annoyed face and speaks "Our Nation is never at risk, Wave! Justice watches over it, because the Empire is a beacon of righteousness. It'll never fall to those who walk the path of wickedness, nor to those disgusting Slimebags!" The sailor Jaeger holds up his hands "Regardless, the Outpost is severely undermanned. It wouldn't hurt, to be prepared, in case something were to happen. I don't think a skeleton crew would be able to handle it."

Run addresses both of them and concurs "Wave's right, Seryu. With the Rebels and the Creatures lurking down South, we can't afford to leave Our first line of defense in such a weakened state." Seryu sat back down and gazed over the side, as she pondered her comrades' logic. Meanwhile, Wave turns around to look at Kurome sitting behind him. He sees her sitting down with her arms wrapped around her knees, and her chin rested on top.

Wave scoots closer towards the teenage assassin and taps her shoulder "Are you okay?" Kurome looks up a him and answers "I'm fine, Wave. I just have a lot on my mind, right now." The sailor smiles "Well, let me know if you need help with something. I'd be happy to lend a hand. And I also happen to be a good listener if there's something that you'd want to talk about."

Kurome stays quiet for a moment. Then, she began to speak "It's as you said, Wave. Those Serpents didn't go North, towards the Empire. But that means, They can be anywhere at this point in time. You and I both know the methods, with which they use to breed. And wherever They went, there's likely to be more animals and Danger Beast for Them to capture and impregnate. They might have triple the numbers, compared to last time we fought Them. If we have to face those Monsters again, I'm not sure we'll be able to beat Them this time."

Wave took a glance at his Grand Chariot's cutlass form, then at Kurome's Muramasa. These Imperial Arms and others like them, are the most powerful weapons he's ever seen. And all the Jaegers can accomplish with that power, was barely repel the Creatures they fought. He didn't want to admit it, but they are seriously outgunned. Even their General Esdeath barely managed to survive to recent battle, and she didn't come away from it unscathed. Her rib must surely still feel tender, after her injury from the Green Serpent. That same one, that gave Kurome her wounds. "I don't think, we're dealing with a natural species here. They're unlike anything, we've ever seen before. That makes Them all the more dangerous, because They're an enigma. A Mystery." He thought apprehensively "And Mysteries can Kill."

Wave drops his train of thought, when he notices Kurome's expression. Aside from her usual aloofness and distant attitude, the teenage assassin now seems melancholic. She's been stuck with that expression ever since last night, when Bols perished. The sailor then balled his hands into fists, as he recalled that grisly scene. Bols was his friend, and had a family. He didn't deserve to die in such an appalling way. Those Monsters sure had a grotesque method of reproduction. It's insane to think, that in order birth one of Their own, another has to suffer a violent and gruesome end. "There's never been any mention of such Parasites in the Empire's history. So where could They have come from? Throughout this whole time, why appear Now all of the sudden?" he wondered.

Wave gave up on pondering these questions, since he doubted himself or his comrades could provide an answer. Instead, he gazes once more at Kurome as she feels along the back of her bandaged neck. Her expression changes to a look of agonized pain, as she withdrew her hand from the wound. She reaches for her bag of sweets and began eating some. Suddenly, the teenage assassin looked up at him and spoke "Wave. What happened with Bols, and the others. I won't end up like That, will I?" she pleaded almost desperately "You'll take care of It, won't you?"

Wave was taken aback and almost shocked by what Kurome was asking. He takes one more look and Grand Chariot's cutlass and responds "If it comes to That, I'll do Us both." It was all he can say, to answer her plea.

Both of them serve the Empire, by fighting its enemies both foreign and domestic. They're soldiers who put their lives at risk almost everyday. Surely he and Kurome realize, that there may come a day when either of them won't make it back from a battle alive and well. And this time, the odds are against them.

The Serpents are fiercely strong, ruthless, and relentless. They follow a leader, who appears much larger and seems more powerful. Plus, They can steal the abilities and characteristics of captured Danger Beasts by turning them into breeding hosts and gestating a Superior Killer from their bodies.

"But that doesn't make Them invincible. All living things have a vulnerability to something. That's an undeniable fact in this world. We've seen Them bleed. We've seen Them die." Wave surmised. He gathered his resolve, and began speaking "Let's just make sure it doesn't come to That."

Kurome glared at him with uncertainty, so Wave explained "We weren't properly prepared for what we faced back down in that Hive, and neither was the Expeditionary Force. We were fortunate enough, not to share the same fate as theirs. And there was nothing we could have done to help them, or Bols." He shook his head in an attempt to keep his sense of regret in check. Then he resumed his speech "But what we can do now, is continue the mission and investigate the Valley of that Mysterious Explosion. I'm confident, we'll find our answers when we get there. Answers to the mystery behind that Explosion, the Creatures existence, and also Our encounter with that Corporal Hicks. It's too much of a coincidence for all three events to take place in such a small amount of time. And I've got a feeling, that Valley is linked to all of it." This time Kurome slowly nodded, and began to relax.

Before he forgets, Wave reached into his travel bag and brought out a small object wrapped in a cloth "Here, I've got something for you." He unwrapped the cloth, and revealed a Revolver Pistol. Kurome instantly recognized it as one of her puppet, Doya's weapons. The last Revolver Pistol, that wasn't crushed along with Doya, by the large Grey Serpent Beast.

"I noticed this lying on the ground, when I exited the Hive to look for you after the Serpents attacked." Wave explained "When I noticed the blood streaming out from beneath a nearby boulder, I immediately ran up to it, fearing the worst." He holds up the gun "When I saw this, I figured it wasn't you, since you've never demonstrated using a firearm." Kurome reached out and took the weapon, and tested its weight "I've abandoned it, when my Puppet fell. The gun was empty and therefore useless."

The sailor Jaeger reached back into his pack, and brought out a small pouch full of bullets and a holster "I paid a visit to the armory and stocked up on these." Wave explained "You and I are the only Jaegers, who don't have any ranged weapons or attacks. And it's evidently clear that if we encounter those Creatures again, we'll have to fight Them from a distance." Kurome nods and takes the holster and bullet pouch. She straps the pouch to her waist, right next to her side skirt cover. The gun and holster, she fastens to her hip and sets it behind Muramasa's sheath.

When Kurome finished equipping the Revolver Pistol and ammo, she looks back at Wave and realized something "What about you?" Wave grinned and held up Grand Chariot "I've fought the Creatures well enough with just my Imperial Arm. I think, I'll be alright without a firearm." The teenage assassin rolled her eyes and turned away from the sailor. Then she began to whisper "It'll be okay, Wave. This time, I'll be the one to watch your back."

Seryu was surveying the land below, when she suddenly looked up at everyone and called out "Look, over there!" Everyone besides Esdeath, looked down at what the auburn haired Jaeger was pointing at. Below them and to the right, was the smoldering remains of the destroyed Hive. Only a blackened and smoky hole of about a few hundred meter radius, remained at where the complex structure once stood.

"Does anyone see anything moving down there?" asked Run, but none of his fellow Jaegers could answer him as they vigorously scanned the surrounding forest wilderness. The thick trees covered the ground, and could easily conceal whatever's down there. They would have to walk on the ground themselves, if they want to see beneath the dense foliage. Nobody found that idea appealing.

Suddenly, Esdeath called out to her Subordinates "Heads Up! We're coming up to the damaged mountain. Our destination is just beyond that point." All eyes looked forward, as they see a mountain range with one of the peaks completely blasted apart. Beyond it, was a large valley surrounded by trees.

The first things Everyone noticed that were peculiar about this valley, was the ash grey soil covering the valley floor. Also, the dull metallic buildings that make up the ruins of the terraforming colony of Hadley's Hope. And finally, the massive cone structure of the devastated Atmosphere Processor.

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

The Jaegers land their Bird Wyvern on the ash grey soil of the Colony's ruins. When Everyone disembarked, Esdeath tethered down the flying Danger Beast while shouting orders "Spread out, but stay within sight of each other! Let's get a good layout of the area, before we decide what to do next. We'll meet back in five." She turns towards Run "Use Mastema, and fly along the outskirts of this place. Take note of anything of interest, and report back to me." The General's Aide spreads Mastema's wings and took flight. He flew back north of the valley, and began to make his way around the perimeter in a counter clockwise flight path.

The remaining Jaegers began to follow their Commander's instructions, and headed towards different directions. Kurome went North, Wave went East, Seryu and Koro went South, and Esdeath herself went West. They walked as far as they could, while keeping in sight of each other. Esdeath would watch out for Wave, and Kurome would do the same for Seryu. When one turned to look at the other, they would see a distant outline and the coloring of each other's clothing.

Wave walked along a row of strange buildings, as he observed their strange architecture. "Amazing! I've never seen so much metal used liked this, before." He observed the area much closer in detail "There are signs of damages. Maybe from the explosion?"

Although, he found the structures as strange, Wave can see some familiar signs and postings on the side of the buildings "MAINTENANCE. HANGAR. OPERATIONS. MEDICAL. BAR. These look like facility designations." He continues reading "East Lock. A-Block. D-Block. The words are recognizable, but what do they mean?" wondered the sailor "What kind of place, is this? Who built it? And what exactly happened here?" he also wanted to know where everyone went. But considering the devastated condition of this place, he might not like the answers he'll find.

With this place's unfamiliar aesthetics in mind, Wave can tell whoever resided here, they were not from the Empire. He's never seen anything like this place, back at the Capitol. Everything had an industrial look to it. Apart from the buildings and their strange construction and materials, dozens of large strange vehicles and equipment lay scattered about. Their purpose and function, are a complete mystery to him.

It seems like the Mysterious Explosion kicked up a lot of the ash colored soil, and nearly covered everything outdoors. The sailor Jaeger noticed a particular component to a buried yellow machine, sticking out of the ground. It looked like a very large mechanical arm, with a vice-like claw at the end. "What exactly was this thing? And what could they have used it for?" Wave wondered. The machine-like arm stuck upwards towards the sky. As if, it was reaching to grasp the Heavens with its widespread claw.

Wave turned back and looked at Esdeath's distant figure, over at the tall cone shaped building "I'm getting a little too far out. I'd better turn around, and make my way back."

Kurome wandered along the Northern end of the strange site, while making sure to stay within view of Seryu's line of sight. "Not like there's anything to block each other's view. I hardly have any structures in my area." Kurome thought, as she closely studied the only object nearby. It looked liked some sort of metallic totem pole. It had flat disk on top, that faced upwards towards the sky, at an angle. Its tall base foundation is much broader, and has a multitude of strange cables and sockets sticking out of the sides. And on one side of the structure, a metal plaque hung with strange words stamped on in all caps lettering "COMMUNICATIONS UPLINK ASSEMBLY. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY"

"Don't know what this is. Could it be something they worshipped, or prayed to?" Kurome wondered "And communications with What? Their Gods? Could this be some sort of shrine?" The teenage assassin didn't have a penchant for studying or understanding other people's culture. All that ever mattered to her these days, were who she needed to kill and how to get Akame back. And, what delicious foods are there to eat.

Anything else didn't really piqued Kurome's interest, except for her comrades. Since everyday she spent with the Jaegers and every assignment they completed together, it brought her more closer to them. Especially Wave. The teen assassin began noticing on how she's been much more familiar and open honest towards the sailor, as of late. "It seems, we've gotten closer to one another." she surmised, and then she began to reason with herself "It's only because I have to rely on him from that time. He was willing to help me out of a bind." Akame's Younger Sister frowned in thought "Why would he go out his way to help me? There has to be something in it, for him to gain."

Kurome recalled how she asked Wave a similar question, back at the Hive. And she remembered his answer, back then "He said, I was Strong. And Cute." Kurome shook her head, and covered her face to keep herself from blushing. When it passed, she wondered to herself "Did Wave really mean that?" she hugged her sides with uncertainty "That can't be the reason, why." She gazed at her recently healed wrist, and felt the bandage on her neck "Who would want someone, as broken as I am?" she muttered "I'm pathetic. I couldn't help my friends. I couldn't help Bols. And even Akame left me."

Tears began well up in Kurome's eyes, so she took out her bag of sweets and began eating. When she finished, all her concerns, her worries, and her doubts began to fade as the drugs took effect. Kurome took a minute to stand there, and let the calm take over her senses. Suddenly, she began to squint at something nearby that was reflecting sunlight into her dark eyes.

Kurome walked over to a shining metal object, that was halfway buried in the soil. She took one more look at her surroundings and noticed that the ground here is level and metallic with grid-like platform gratings spread out across the landscape in the shape of an enormous square. "Must be some sort of staging area." guessed the teenage Jaeger. She noticed a large blocky X, painted at the center of the platform. Akame's Younger Sister just shrugged and reached into the dirt to pull out the shining object.

When the object came free from the soil, Kurome studied it closely to see what it could be. It was slim and rectangular in shape. Had hinges on the back, indicating it can fold. And its surface was a protective chrome plating. Kurome couldn't figure what it is "What is this thing? Some kind of case? Maybe a box?" she had no clue, where it came from or how it wound up nearly buried "Maybe, it's treasure." The teen Jaeger thought sarcastically.

With a sigh, Kurome tucked the object beneath an arm and made her way back "Maybe the others can figure out, what it is? It might be an important clue."

Esdeath calmly approached the massive building to the West. As she got closer, she began to notice an intense heat radiating from the structure. "What is this place? A furnace?" she observed the building's shape "A volcano, perhaps?" That last guess made the most sense to her. The building was shaped like a volcano. Parts of its top and sides were blown apart, and scattered as if from an eruption. And even the rim along the top was smoking. "How's it possible, for a volcano to be made of metal?" she wondered. All this wondering was getting the blue haired woman nowhere. She'll have a better idea of what it was, if she can get inside.

The General stopped a few meters from the structure. The intense heat wouldn't allow her to approach any further. Esdeath stood there and made a brooding frown. A minute has passed, and she makes a sly grin. The Jaegers' leader placed both her hands on the ground, and concentrated "Whatever's giving off this heat, needs to cool down." Ice began of form on the ground in front of her, and rapidly expanded forth covering the entire building. In a matter of minutes, the entire conical structure was encased in ice.

Esdeath stood back up and took a breath "Whew! That should do it. Now, all that's left is to let it thaw. Maybe it'll be cool enough to explore it, by then." She turns back to see Wave and Kurome returned and waiting in the distance "In the meantime, let's see what the others have found."

Five minutes have past and most of the Jaegers reconvened, back at the tethered Bird Wyvern. Kurome and Wave looked at Esdeath's handiwork in the distance, as their Commander walked back to them.

Esdeath looked at her two present Subordinates "What's keeping Seryu and Run?" Before either Wave or Kurome can answer, the General's Aide swooped in from above and bowed in front of her "Pardon my tardiness, Ma'am. But I may have found something that requires our immediate attention." The blue haired General made an intrigued expression, and she gestured for Run to continue speaking. "I've spotted an Encampment, down South along the site's perimeter. It looks abandoned, but it's definitely been there most recently."

Esdeath grinned with genuine curiosity "Seryu went in that direction. Could she have found what you're talking about?" As soon as she finished talking, Seryu's voice called out from a distance "Over Here!"

Seryu was waving a her mechanical arms, trying to get her Comrades' attention. Koro clung to her shoulder with his small hands, and barely held on as he bobbed up and down in the draft. The auburn haired young woman almost sounded urgent, as she called out once again "You need to come see this!"

Esdeath dashed towards Seryu, and reached her nearly instantaneously. Run followed after her, and came up a moment later. Wave broke into a steady jog, while Kurome trotted slowly behind him. Worried about her slow speed being a display in weakness, the teenage assassin partially drew Muramasa from its sheath and activated its ability.

Energy poured forth from the red blade and enveloped Kurome's body with its power. She grunts from the strain that was exerted over her body, but she gritted her teeth and withstood it. After overcoming the initial shock of the power transfer, Akame's younger sister focused her newly acquired strength and dashed forward at a velocity to match Esdeath's. She quickly overtook Wave and made it to the other Jaegers in no time.

Esdeath, Run, and Seryu looked on, as Kurome caught up with them. They were very impressed by how strong the teenage assassin became, thanks to Muramasa's ability.

Shortly after, Wave arrived lastly and was slightly winded by the activity. Kurome looked back at the sailor Jaeger and spoke teasingly "Looks like, you need to exercise more, Wave. You'll need to keep in shape, in order to keep up with the rest of us."

Wave stood up after catching his breath and grumbled "If I had used my Imperial Arm, like you did. Then, I would also-" Seryu interrupted him, and cut him off midsentence "Don't complain, Wave! Kurome's just more enthusiastic about serving Justice, than you are. If you'd dedicate yourself more, then perhaps Justice will bless you with same amount of invigorating strength." She pats Kurome on the back "Isn't that right, Kurome?" The teenage assassin wanted the conversation to end, so she played along "You're correct Seryu.' The auburn haired murderess beamed with pride and cheered "I sure am, always! Let's all work together to rid all the Evil, and Build a better World!" Koro stood beside Seryu and mimics her cheering motion.

Kurome began to feel relieved when she seemingly succeeded in covering up her weakened state and hid it from the other Jaegers, until Muramasa's power expended itself and left her body. Suddenly, Kurome's legs gave out beneath her, and she fell on her rump. Before she can hurry and stand back up, her back brushed against something strange. She turns around to see what she touched, and came face to face with a snarling Alien Warrior.

Akame's Younger Sister makes a startled gasp, and frantically tried to crawl away. She winds up bumping against someone's boots, and she looks up to see Wave reaching down to grab her by the shoulders and held her steady "Kurome! It's okay! See?" he points at the Creature, and Kurome can see It wasn't moving, whatever's left of It anyway. The Alien's lower half was blown apart by some ridiculously powerful weapon.

Wave helped Kurome to her feet and they both observed the surrounding area. All around the Jaegers, were piles of dead Serpents. Most of Them were blown apart by an absurdly powerful blast, or riddled with bullets by some sort of firearm. A few Others were crushed by the trunks of trees that were sent Their way, like siege defenses. An entire horde of the Creatures have battled here, and perished at the hands of a strong contender.

"I saw all these carcasses, when I walked towards the Southern tree line" explained Seryu. She points further South "I also caught a glimpse of a campsite near the edge of the trees. Could be the same one, Run spotted overhead."

Esdeath and Run were keenly observing the veritable boneyard. They hadn't noticed Kurome's lapse in strength, much to the teen's relief. She made to join the others in surveying the area, but Wave was still holding her by the shoulders "Kurome? Are you-"

Kurome suddenly threw up her hand and pressed her finger to her lip "Not now, okay?…Please?" The sailor Jaeger gave her a worried look, but stayed quiet and released her. They both walked up and joined their comrades in their search for clues behind the one-sided massacre.

Esdeath and Run reached an elevated hill overlooking the area. They both crouched down and studied a set of footprints scattered throughout the hill. "Run. Do you see, what I see?" the blue haired General asked. The General's Aide gave a small nod and answers "Yes. I count three sets of tracks." he then speaks in confirmation "Three people stood here atop the hill."

Run looks up and sees the Camp nearby "Must the be people, who set up that camp." he looks behind and measures the proximity of the carcasses "They came out here, and fought the Creatures. And judging by the lack of blood, here. It safe to say, they're defense was successful."

Esdeath stood up and makes a sinister grin "It means, whoever's been here. They're incredibly strong…"

 **Outskirts to the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Hicks led the members of Night Raid to the back of the Dropship, and towards the weapons cache "Alright. We're short on time, so I'm gonna give each of you a crash course on the guns you'll be receiving." The Corporal eyed each individual member of Night Raid, and notice their reluctance. Only Mine seemed eager to get a weapon.

Hicks sighs and explains "Look. I understand, you all have unique fighting styles and battle practices. But, if we want a guaranteed victory. We'll need the overwhelming firepower, to better our chances." Behind the group, Najenda spoke up "It'll be alright. Hicks and I already went over your fighting capabilities. He'll equip you all, in a way that suits your abilities." With that reassurance, Everyone set their minds at ease.

The first one to step forward was Mine, who was besides herself with excitement "I want that one, over there!" she points to a Smartgun hanging on its storage rack, at the back of the weapons cache. Hicks shakes his head, and apologize "Sorry, Mine. I don't think you're ready for that one. It takes a considerable amount of skill to use it, and We simply don't have the time to train you properly."

The genius sniper fumed with disappointment, as Hicks instead offers her a Pulse Rifle "We're going up against an enemy of unknown strength. So We'll need to balance out Our arsenal, to suit any situation that might arise." Mine accepts the Pulse Rifle, and the Marine hands her a few clips of ammo "Ripley says, she's given you a lesson in using these guns. I'm sure it'll serve you well in the future."

Hicks took a moment to study Mine's slim petite figure closely. Mine began to blush, and asked "What are you staring at?" The Corporal makes another sigh and replies "Don't take this the wrong way. But I'm afraid your shape and size may not fit into any of the battle armors. The pink haired gunner gives an annoyed look at first. But then her expression softens and she nods in understanding. The Marine pats her on the shoulder reassuringly "I promise. When We have time, I'll try to put together something useful for you. Maybe, a custom made Smartgunner harness."

Mine cracks a smile, as she pockets the ammo. She was about to step away, before Hicks held up a hand to stop her "Just a second, Mine!" He pulls up and opens a small box on the side, and takes out a small green device that resembles a wristwatch "Take this with you, also. It's a Locator. We use them to keep track of each other's whereabouts with the proper equipment." He pulls out a device that emitted a steady beep, when activated "Everyone will get one of their own, and wear it at all times. That way, either Bishop, Najenda, or I can find anyone who's in trouble, and send help."

The box was passed around, and every one of the Dropship's occupants took a Locator and put it on. The next person to step up is Akame.

The red eyed assassin began to speak "Hicks. I'm not sure if I'll be needing something as cumbersome, as a firearm. My fighting style requires that I move around a lot, and quickly too." The Corporal makes a thoughtful frown. Then he slowly pulled his sidearm from its holster and presented it to Akame "At least take this." He insisted "It's lightweight and easy to use. You'll never know, when it might come in handy." Akame eyes the HK VP-70 with uncertainty, but she eventually took the pistol and felt it's weight. "It's pretty light. Even Murasame's more heavier than this." she commented.

Hicks placed his hands on Akame's and quickly gave her a brief guidance on the weapon's handling "I trust, you're familiar with the concept of firearms?" Akame blushes, and gives a slow nod "I think so. Point it at your target and pull the trigger, right?" The Marine makes a slightly amused grin "Well. In essence, that's the most basic concept. But, it's little more complex than that." He steps behind her, and overlays his arms around her own.

Hicks began to explain "Always aim, when firing a shot. To aim, just look behind the gun's sights on top and align the rear sights to the front." He guides Akame's hands, and raised the gun to her eye level "When your sights are lined up on your target, squeeze the trigger and fire." The Corporal points to a small switch on the side of the gun. "Also make sure, the safety's off when shooting. When you're not in combat or putting away the gun, always put the safety back on." He toggles the safety switch for the red eyed assassin to see "Red means, it's ready to fire. Black means, it's on safety. Got it?" Akame nods.

Hicks presses a different switch, and caught the ammo clip after it was ejected "You got 18 rounds. That's the amount of bullets you can shoot, before needing to reload." He takes the clip and shows it to Akame "In order to reload, you just take a full clip like this one. And feed it into the bottom of the gun, then you pull back on the slide." The Corporal slaps the clip back in, and pulls back the slide. _Kr-chck_ "Now, You're ready to Rock and Roll."

The red eyed assassin makes a confused look, and then throws Hicks a demanding expression "How does one, Rock and Roll? Is that a special maneuver, you have to do when using this weapon?" The Marine makes a chuckle and pulls back his arms defensively "It's just a phrase, Akame. We use it to describe; We're giving Our All in this fight." Akame stood there, thinking over his explanation. Then she looks up in realization "Then, I've been Rock and Rolling all this time, ever since I picked up a sword. And I didn't even know it!"

Hicks continues to stifle a laugh, to prevent embarrassing Akame. Instead he throws her a salute "You sure have, Akame! This time, We'll Rock and Roll together. Let's show those Rakshasa Assholes, how Marines kick ass!" he held out his hand to her, and Akame shook it gleefully.

Before Akame can step away, Hicks gave her a leg holster and a couple of pistol clips "Don't forget. Only draw, when you mean to kill. Same, as when you pull the trigger. Always shoot to kill. It shouldn't be hard for you, yes?" Akame makes a serious nod and continues stepping away. When the red eyed assassin finally stepped clear, Tatsumi took his turn and walked forward.

Hicks resumes his smile, as he addressed his subtle look-alike "Alright, Tatsumi. I took great care in deciding what to equip you with, and thought I'd start you off with this one." He unslung the M37A2 Shotgun off his back, and presented it to Tatsumi. The green eyed fighter looked at the Shotgun, in pure fascination "What kind of gun is this?" he asked. The Corporal's smile grew wider "It's one of my personal favorites. A pump-action scatter shot. It's very handy, for close encounters."

Tatsumi received the Shotgun, and tested its heft and weight "Pump-action? Like the Grenade Launcher, Ripley taught Mine to use?" Hicks rubs the back of his head in a fidget "Not quite. This one won't blow apart a pack of Xenomorphs. But, you wouldn't want it to go off in your face either. You'll be fighting face to face with your enemies. And at a close range like that, this piece will definitely turn the battle in your favor."

Tatsumi held up and sighted the Shotgun. He then practiced loading the shells and worked the pump-action to chamber a shell. The same way he observed Mine and Ripley do it with the Grenade Launcher. When he finished practicing the reloading process, Hicks clapped his hands in applause "It seems, you're getting the hang of it. Good job!" he then handed Tatsumi a bandolier full of shotgun shells. The green eyed fighter nods in appreciation, and walks back among his comrades.

Hicks looked over the remaining members of Night Raid "Okay, who's next? Leone? Are you sure, you don't want to get kitted for this Operation?" Leone waves a hand with certainty "Not this time, Hicks. A big-ass gun would only give me away, when I come to do my part." The Corporal shrugs, and turned to the next assassin "Lubbock? Is there anything, I can entice you with?" Lubbock makes a smirk and quickly glanced at every female member of his team "Nah. I think I'll pass. Cross Tails requires both my hands to work with, and it doesn't leave me capable of handling firearms." Hicks frowns and turned to the last option "Chelsea? I don't suppose, you'd want anything?" Chelsea shakes her head "Not yet. Leone's right. In order to get to Borick, we'll need to remain inconspicuous. A gun will only draw unwanted attention to ourselves, and we can't risk making people suspicious of Us and compromise Our infiltration."

The Corporal finally relents and turns to those who will remain behind to defend the Dropship. He addresses Najenda first "Okay. If you're playing defense for Our base, I must insist that you at least carry a Pulse-Rifle. Just like Ripley" he indicates Ripley's combo weapon. Najenda concedes and picks out a Pulse Rifle for herself. She then looks back over to Hicks, while cradling the weapon with her left arm "It's been a long time, since I used a firearm. And that was when I had a right eye and arm." She recalls that day, when Esdeath took both pieces of her body during her surprise attack after the former had tried to defect to the Revolutionary Army.

Najenda tested the Pulse Rifle's weight in her left arm, and tried to aim the sights with her remaining eye "I've never fired with my left, before. My instincts are backwards. It'll take me some time to relearn and adjust." Ripley pats her on the back, and brandished her own weapon encouragingly "Count on me to watch your back, in the meantime." Susanoo stepped forward and declared "And I, as well!" he approaches the weapons cache and selects a Shotgun for himself. "This'll be a first for me, with this kind of weapon. So I'll go with Tatsumi's and Hicks' line of thinking, and start off with nothing too fancy." He then expertly loaded some shells and cocked the pump-action to chamber a round. _Ch-chk._

 **Night Raid Base Camp, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Esdeath slowly parted the entrance flaps to the large tent, at the center of the Camp. She doesn't expect anyone to be around to try and ambush her. All the same, if she doesn't start acting more cautious, more of her Subordinates may die. Herself, included. The flaps were opened, and the blue haired General peered inside, ready for any sort of trap to spring. Only stillness greeted her.

After standing at the tent's entrance and waiting for something to happen, Esdeath sniffed the air and searched for any telltale signs of gunpowder, fuel, or any other types of incendiaries. "There." she picked up a faint hint of something burnt, right beneath her. The Jaegers' leader quickly looked down, and discovered the source of the burnt odor. It was a cigarette butt laying on the ground, crushed beneath someone's boot. She knelt down and picked up the cigarette butt for a closer look. It's a custom roll, with a very specific brand of tobacco. There's only a few people who smokes this kind of brand. And one of them, she knew very personally.

"Najenda" murmured an intrigued Esdeath. She turns to her Subordinates, who were standing behind her "Night Raid's been here. This must be their encampment." All of the Jaegers stood tense at receiving this news, and all eyes darted wildly around to spot a probable ambush.

Seryu spoke first "Where are they!? Where are those Criminals hiding!? Justice must be served to all who follow Evil!" she held her Tonfa Guns at the ready. Beside her, Koro growled and bared his many sharp teeth.

Wave scanned his surroundings in apprehension "Does anyone got eyes on anything?" he drew Grand Chariot, and stood ready to transform into its black armor.

Kurome had her hand on Muramasa's hilt, as she carefully looked along the tents "Are you here, Big Sis?" she murmured.

Run was the only one surveying the campsite with relative calm "Relax, Everybody. I don't think anyone's here to attack us anyway. Otherwise, they would have done it by now."

"Run's right." concurs Esdeath. She was standing just inside the entrance of the central tent, and was beckoning the other Jaegers to come inside.

Everyone stepped through the entrance and into the large tent. The first thing they see, was a long table with chairs around it. There were half-eaten food on plates along the top of the table, and the food appears to be about a day old.

"They must have been eating dinner, when those Creatures attacked. Probably scrambled in response, and went out to fight them." Surmised Run. He carefully went over the seating arrangements and the amount of dishes on the table, and tallied up a number in his head. "At least 9 people have been here." He concluded.

Esdeath held her chin in thought "That's quite a large number, for a group of assassins. More, than what I expected Night Raid to have." Seryu walked up from behind her and growled "Numbers mean nothing against the forces of Justice! All Evildoers will fall against Our righteous might!"

The blue haired woman ignores her, and turns to the others "Alright, spread out! Let's search this Camp, and gather as much information as we possible could. Turn it inside and out, and search for clues." She turns to Run, once more "Run. You're Our eye in the sky. Get airborne, and keep watch over the campsite. We can't have unwelcomed guests showing up unannounced." The General's Aide nods and took flight on Mastema's wings. He flew out of the tent, and rose above the Encampment.

The Jaegers have split up and wandered off to different parts of the camp. There were seven tents in total, but only five remained standing. Each Jaeger would search a tent by themselves, while their leader stayed and searched the central tent.

Wave walked into a tent and began looking for clues. His search would be fruitless though, as only a pair of sleeping cots and a small bag of underwear and socks were all that occupied this tent. Although, he did chance upon a hand-drawn portrait of Night Raid member, Najenda, beneath one of the cots. Along with a copy of a special edition adult magazine. The sailor Jaeger blushed, as he skimmed over the naughty contents of the magazine. Then, after making sure nobody was around, he rolled up the magazine and slipped it inside his jacket pocket. "Finders Keepers." Wave whispered.

Kurome crept carefully into the tent she means to search, clearly hoping that she picked the right one. She spots a bottle of booze in a corner near one of the cots, and her heart began to sink with disappointment. But as she approach the second cot, her dark eyes lit up in recognition. She quickly grabbed the blanket off the top of the second cot, and sniffed it thoroughly "Big Sis' scent…" The teenage assassin can recognize the smell her Older Sister "This was were Akame slept. Akame has definitely been here!"

Kurome began to feel both a strong relief and a dark resolve. "I'll find you, Big Sis." she declared, while resting her hand of Muramasa's hilt "Then, we'll finally be together, and we'll never be separated again."

"Koro! Find!" Seryu commanded her biological Imperial Arm, immediately upon entering a tent. Koro planted his nose to the ground and began sniffing all over. Meanwhile, Seryu walked up to a box on the floor and began examining its contents "What the Hell, is all this?" she asked. It was mostly make-up and beauty products for young women.

The tomboyish Seryu tossed the box, and its contents, aside in disgust "Probably used for moonlighting as Harlots in the Red-Light District." she bemused. Then, the amber eyed murderess makes a sinister chuckle "How fitting. That would explain why those Tramps would be there." She was reminiscing on that night, when she killed Sheele "The World was better off, without that purple haired Slut. Even, if she hadn't been a lowly assassin of Night Raid, who killed Captain Ogre and Dr. Stylish, and cut off my damn arms, I still would've fed her worthless carcass to Koro!"

Off to the side, Koro snarled viciously as he came close to one of the beds. "What's the matter, Koro? You find something?" Seryu asked. The biological Imperial Arm continued to growl, as he picked up the familiar scent off the cot's blanket. Seryu walks over to the sleeping cot and stared at it "Must be her pink haired companion, who slept here. Mine, was it?" she kicks the cot over in vengeful fury "It doesn't matter! I'll send that Vile Witch straight to Hell, where she belongs!"

The auburn haired psychopath's face began to murderously twist and warp, as she starts to laugh "I'll scour this entire World clean of Evil! Starting with Night Raid. Then those Serpents, afterwards! Also the Rebellion, and all those who defy the Empire! The Wicked shall never know peace, as long as I draw breath!"

Esdeath slowly walked around the interior of the large central tent. Aside from a pair of sleeping cots in the back, the only other things worth noticing were a couple of large metal signs set leaning against one of the tent's side support struts. She walks up to one of the signs and read its contents "HADLEYS HOPE, POP. 158." beneath the bold lettering, someone painted a few words "Have A Nice Day!" The blue haired General smirks, and says "I always do." She was starting to make sense of things "This sign most likely belonged to the strange buildings, at the Valley's center." She reads the sign again "Hadley's Hope, Population 158. Looks like, that's the number of people who resided in that place." The Jaegers' leader gazes towards the direction of the ruined colony "So, what could've happened to them? Are they still even here?"

Esdeath frowns and looks at the other sign to read its contents, hoping to get an answer "ATMOSPHERE PROCESSING PLANT. LV-426 TERRAFORMING PROJECT, WEYLAND-YUTANI CORP." at the bottom she can read the last words "Building Better Worlds".

"What the Hell does any of that, mean?" grumbled a frustrated Esdeath. The jumble of complicated words made her head hurt, when she tried to make sense of it all. She double-checked the last set of words and made a frown "Building Better Worlds?" She gazes over at the colony ruins "Not likely gonna happen, anytime soon." she remarked coldly, as she started to walk out of the large tent.

After stepping outside, Esdeath took notice of the only two tents that were no longer standing. Both tents' canvases remained intact, and haven't been shredded. "It appears, the Creatures never made it this far." surmised the General. She gazes at the symbols painted of the canvases side. One had a large red cross, and the other had a fork crossing a spoon. Now, something has started to make sense to her.

Esdeath makes a long whistle and calls for her Subordinates to return. The first to arrive was Run, as he swooped down and landed. Next was Kurome. Then, Seryu and Koro. The last to arrive, was a slightly blushing Wave.

"What happened, Commander? Is everything alright?" asked Run. Esdeath slowly nods, then she points towards the fallen tents "This Camp is mostly intact. It looks like, you're right. The Creatures never made it past that hill. It appears Night Raid has been successful in repelling the Serpents. They fought with the Creatures. And they won."

Seryu was venomously furious "Impossible! Those who don't serve Justice, can never be strong enough to fight Evil!" Beside her, Kurome held her chin and frowned "So, where are they? Does anybody know, what happened?"

Esdeath faced all her Subordinates and began deducting the facts "We know, Night Raid has been here for a time. We also know, Night Raid fought the Creatures outside of their camp. They weren't taken by surprise, and they haven't taken any casualties from the look of things." She gestures towards the collapsed tents "Look over there. Those are the medical tent, and the cooking tent. In the event of an evacuation, it's standard procedure to prioritize the removal of medicine and food supplies so as to not let it fall into enemy hands. Then, they scuttle the tents afterwards." She looks off towards the South, as she gave her conclusion "Three members of Night Raid held off the Horde of Creatures, while the rest of them loaded up the necessities. And then, they all escaped together and retreated."

Kurome also looked towards the South. Her expression was pure disappointment "So, They're gone? Night Raid is no longer in this Valley?" Run turns to her and answers "It appears so. They're a group of assassins, not an army. Not even they are foolish enough to stick around here, after battling the Serpents."

The Jaegers have completed their search and regrouped outside of the camp. The Jaegers' leader looked over to her Subordinates and addresses them "Alright. Has anyone found anything?"

Wave spoke up first and answers almost hastily "Not me! I haven't found anything!" Esdeath and Kurome noticed, the sailor had his arms crossed over his jacket pocket.

Before Wave was asked what he was hiding, Seryu spoke up "I've found out, that wanted criminal Sheele's partner, Mine had resided in this camp." Then her eyes lit up brightly, as she smiled and giggled happily "Once We find her, she'll make an excellent snack for Koro. Just like her friend!"

Esdeath turned towards her sternly "Not, until I've interrogated her thoroughly and find out everything she knows." She then began to radiate Killing Intent "Any member of Night Raid that We manage to capture, I want kept alive." She walks towards the hill along the edge of the camp, and looks over to the ruins of Hadley's Hope in the distance "We need to find out, what happened here. Where did this place come from? What was Night Raid doing here?" her sights rests on the frozen Atmosphere Processor "And where exactly, did They go?"

 **Outskirts to the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

The midday sun hovered brightly, high above the City of Kyoroch and Colonial Marine Dropship that sat along the outskirts. Inside the Ship, its occupants readied themselves for the operation at hand. Over the Dropsbip's PA system, a strange tune that Hicks has called "Rock Music" was blaring out loud and jolted Everyone with its provocative melody.

 _ **Kick it! (Electric Guitar revs out a loud smooth tone) You wake late for school, and you don't wanna go! (Electric Guitar continues revving on)…**_

Everyone aboard the Dropship, started to settle into the groove of the music in the background. Only Mine seems bothered with it "Is it just Me, or am I the only one with her head in the game!?" Behind her, Leone blurted out and told her off "No! You're the only one who's head's up her ass." She laughed alongside Lubbock and Chelsea, as she pulled an unsuspecting Tatsumi to her side and sang into his ear "You Gotta Fight! For Your Right! To Paaarrtaayy!"

Mine turned to Hicks with an annoyed look "Why are you playing this nonsense over the loudspeakers!? Isn't someone gonna hear this!?" the Corporal grinned and shook his head "Not likely. The Dropship is airtight and soundproof. No sound can get outside, unless We use the loudspeakers outside of the hull. This song's an extremely old classic. You should learn to appreciate it. Hudson and I would jam out to some of this, along with our team. Right before we start an operation. It should help you to get focused and loosen up." He then starts adjusting the straps to his body armor, and began re-lacing his boots. When he finished, he hoisted and slung the Pulse-Rifle across his back and began pocketing ammo clips and grenade shells.

The genius sniper rolled her eyes, and began her own preparations. She had Pumpkin's case open, with a selection of barrel extension out for her to choose. Since Mine's own Pulse-Rifle was fully automatic and well suited for short to midrange, she decided to fit Pumpkin with a specialized barrel for an overwhelmingly high power output. Her next opponent will not be able to withstand the sheer destructive power of this Imperial Arm's option. No matter what defensive properties, they have. Or, regenerative powers they can use. Even, long range can't save them. Satisfied with her load-out, the pink haired gunner placed Pumpkin back in its case. Afterwards, she slung the case strap over her shoulder, and slung the Pulse-Rifle across her back. Mine then takes a medium pouch full of Pulse-Rifle clips and Grenade Launcher shells, and strapped the pouch around her thin waist.

Akame took her Pistol and slid it in its leg holster. She then strapped the holster to her leg, right beneath Murasame's scabbard. The red eyed assassin then took a small pouch with a few Pistol clips inside, and strapped it to her hip and next to her side skirt cover. She finally dons her red gauntlets, and stood at ease. Earlier, Hicks offered her a set of Colonial Marines M3 body armor for protection, but Akame refused outright. Her attacks are primarily dependent on her speed and agility. To even slightly hinder her movements with armor, would spell certain death to the speedy assassin.

After Tatsumi had finally shoved a singing Leone off of him, the green eyed fighter took his Shotgun and slung it across his back to rest over Incursio's sword form. He then grabbed the bandolier full of Shotgun shells and straps it around his waist. At Hicks' behest, Tatsumi takes an M3 body armor and slipped it on. It fitted a little bit loose, so he tighten the straps and adjusted the fit. Hicks' theory was this "If Incursio's armor can materialize over Tatsumi's clothes and around his gear. Then it stands to reason the M3's body armor should remain underneath that Imperial Arms plating, and grant Tatsumi some extra defense." The green eyed fighter was also given some matching ballistic greaves and reinforced fingerless gloves to compliment the armor. Thanks to the M3's ultra-lightweight material, Tatsumi's movement shouldn't be that much hampered.

Lubbock donned Cross Tails' gloves and wound some thread around his fingers. Ripley walks up to him and hands him some equipment. "Here, Lubbock. Take this." She hands him a Motion Tracker "If you're gonna go it alone. You might as well keep this handy, so that the Enemy doesn't get the drop on you." The green haired veteran assassin accepts the Motion Tracker, and straps it to his hip. "When the screen lights up and starts blipping, look for the dots and the direction their coming from." Ripley explains. She shows him the mute button, so the device's audio wouldn't give him away. Lubbock smiles in appreciation "That simple, huh? It'll sure save me the time of putting up a detection barrier."

The former Warrant Officer also hands him a Welding Torch, and the defense operative just stares at it questioningly "Okay. Now, what could I possibly use this for?" Ripley shrugs, and answers "If you're being chased, and need a way out. Use this to cut your way past obstacles or seal some big doors behind you. You're smart Lubbock. You'll figure something out." Lubbock grins and scratched the front of his nose at the compliment. He then receives the Hand Welder and pockets it.

Off to the side, Najenda was holding up a pair of pale colored robes given to her from Pais and Litone. "These are the apprentice robes, worn by the followers of the Path of Peace. Particularly by acolytes, who are looking to be initiated into direct discipleship of the religion's Lord." Pais explains "This disguise will get you into the church. And Borick himself personally oversees the initiation process. So you should have a straight path to him." Night Raid's leader passes the robes over to Leone and Chelsea, and led them behind a row of tall crates in order to change.

Leone looks at the robe, while scorning the drab apparel. But she slips it on, after Najenda gave her a "Just wear the damn thing!" look. Chelsea does likewise, and slips the skimpy robe on. She then playfully twirls herself around as she tries to act demure. She steps in front of her comrades while lightly tugging down the thigh-length hem of her robe to help cover her knees. Chelsea then makes a small wink and blew a kiss towards Tatsumi, and earned bashful looks from Tatsumi, Lubbock, and even Hicks.

When everyone had finished their preparations, they gathered around Najenda to go over the plan one more time. "Okay, we all know what we have to do. Correct?" she asked, and she got nodding heads all around her "Good. Tatsumi, Mine, Akame, and Hicks, you'll take the round about path along the edge of the city. It's quite a hike, but it's the only way to get you there without someone recognizing your faces. When you've reached your destinations, get into position and dig in for an ambush." The four of them nod quietly. Night Raid's leader continues speaking "Leone, Lubbock, and Chelsea aren't on wanted posters. So we'll have them go into the City and scout for a way into the church. When the sun starts to set, the Spy Team will wander the city and lure out the Rakshasa Demons. As soon as their way is clear, Lubbock will escort Leone and Chelsea to the church and smuggle them inside." She looks at every individual person before continuing "The Idea is to draw out the fight with the Rakshasa Demons for as long as possible. Until Leone and Chelsea are successful in assassinating Borick. If all else fails, Bishop will pilot the Dropship over the city and drop Su off into the church to finish the job. It won't be neat or subtle. But, one way or another, Borick doesn't live to see the next day."

Everyone grew quiet and tense from the urgency for this mission to succeed. Before anyone moved, Bishop spoke up real quick "Mine. Lubbock. Take these." He hands them a pair of communication headsets "If you wear these, we can all maintain constant communication with one another." Ripley follows suit, and hands another pair to both Najenda and Pais "That way, We can update each other on the situation, as operation goes underway." Everyone who received a headset, quickly put them on.

Ripley checks the microphone on her own head set and speaks into it ("Testing. Testing. Does Everyone hear me okay?") one by one, every headset wearer responded.

("I hear you") said Mine.

("So, do I") responded Lubbock.

("Loud and Clear, Ripley") answered Najenda.

("Umm…I guess, so?") spoke Pais.

("Network Connections are strong") explained Bishop.

)"Hey Mine. Hearing your voice from the headset, makes it almost tolerable to listen to.") Lubbock comments teasingly. Mine turned angry red and retorts ("How about I scream into it loudly, Pervert! That way, I'll be sure to blow your eardrums out.")

A high-pitched whining noise erupted into Mine and Lubbock headsets, and both of them grit their teeth in pain. ("Keep it down, you two!") growled Hicks, after taking his finger of the audio controls to the radio network ("There's to be no chatter over the radio. We need to keep the line clear in case of an emergency. Only talk into the headset when there's something relevant to this Operation.") Najenda points the finger at her Subordinates ("It's gonna be Life and Death, beyond this point. And We are not losing anyone today, just because you decide to argue from a distance. Am I clear!?") the genius sniper and the defense operative groan, while rubbing their sore ears. ("Yes Ma'am" they answer in unison.")

Hicks walks over to the controls of the Dropship's loading ramp and asks Everyone around him "Are we ready to go?" He gets nodding heads all around. With his calm and cool demeanor suddenly becoming dark and quiet, the Colonial Marine hits a switch and the ramp begins to lower open.

The loading ramp thrums to life, as hydraulics begin to flex and extend, and a loud mechanical hum sounds out. The ramp opens up slowly, and touches down against the ground beneath the Dropship.

And down the Dropship's loading ramp came Assassins, Spies, and a Marine, all eager to get the operation underway.

Back inside the Dropship, Bishop sits down in front of a computer console that acted as a temporary command center, and powered up a handful of computer screens that displayed tactical readouts, infrared sensors, weather tracking, radar scopes, and anything else that can provide useful or helpful information to the operation. "Mission is a Go." he announced.

Atop the loading ramp, the Ship's defenders looked on as their teammates exited "Night Raid, Move Out!" commanded Najenda. Beside her, Ripley calls out after them "Good Luck, Everybody!". And between them, Newt throws out a thumbs-up "Come Back, Safely! All of You!"

Chapter 5 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback will be appreciated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, Night Raid battles the Rakshasa Demons in a calculated assault. The Jaegers continue their investigation into the ruins of Hadley's Hope, completely unaware of the wonders and horrors that lie within.


	7. Chapter 6

To All Readers: Thank you so much for your reviews so far. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated. Rest assured, all questions will be answered as the story progresses. I'm in this for the long haul, so this story will be long and detailed. Also, I've decided to include Predator involvement. A few Predators will join the fray, so look forward to them in the story. Please enjoy this chapter, and review to speak your thoughts and opinions.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 6: Insight, Inside

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

"Run, take a look at this." Kurome was standing next to the General's Aide, and held up the smooth rectangular object for him to see. "What do you have there, Kurome?" Run asked perplexed. The teenage assassin pointed towards the north end of Hadley's Hope and answered "It's something I've found near that oddly shaped totem, at the area I was searching earlier. I figured, it might provide a clue about this place."

Run takes the rectangle device and closely observes it. He, Kurome, and the other Jaegers have just left Night Raid's Camp, and returned to the Bird Wyvern at the center of the Colony. They are to search the Colony buildings, and find clues that can explain the nature of the buildings that occupy the Valley. So far, they have only gotten a name to this place, thanks to the sign posts they found in Night Raid's Camp.

After going over every inch of the device, Run sees a latch release and pressed it. The object began to split and folded open, revealing a dark screen display and a set of buttons on a keyboard. "Interesting." commented Run. All around him, the Jaegers have gathered to see what he was doing.

"What's that you got there, Run? Some kind of equipment?" asked a curious Seryu. Behind her, Koro was climbing up her shoulder for a better look. Run turns to face his comrades "I don't know, honestly. Kurome here was the one who found it within her search area." He indicates Kurome, who nods quietly.

Esdeath walks up and joins the conversation "Then, you should be careful." she warned "If we don't know what it could be, it'll be all the more dangerous to just simply tinker with it." Run quickly nods and carefully closed the device back up, without touching any of the buttons on the keyboard.

"We should at least try to understand it." Wave explained "We haven't come across anything, that can help explain what this place is. It might be worth figuring out, what this device can do."

A sadistic smirk ran across Esdeath 's face "Are you volunteering? That's very courageous you, Wave" The sailor makes a blush and turns to the rest of his teammates. They were all staring at him expectantly. "Fine." Wave replies "As a Man of the Sea, I cannot place others at risk, before myself." He takes his Imperial Arm, stabs it into the ground, and called out its name "Grand Chariot!" The black armor materialized onto him and he stands ready. Run hands him the device and backs away, along with everybody else.

When all of the Jaegers backed safely away from Wave, the black armored Jaeger places the device on the ground and slowly reopened it. He looks over the blank screen display and wondered "Okay. I'm assuming, that this is supposed to display some sort of image of some kind?"

Wave looks over to where his Comrades are standing, and calls out "Hey! What the Hell, am I supposed to do!?" Esdeath, Kurome, and Seryu held up a hand to their mouths to stifle laughs. Run answers back "It's obviously some sort of gadget. Look for a way to turn it on." With a sigh, the black armored sailor glared back at the device. All across the keyboard, labels and letters were printed on or besides the many buttons and controls. One button near the top of the keyboard had the word "Power On/Off"

Wave fidgets, as he scratches the translucent visor atop his helmet with an armored hand. He holds up his other hand to block, as he reaches down and press the power switch in a barely audible _click_. The black armored Jaeger dropped to a knee and braced.

A dull electrical chime sounded from the device, and the blank screen lights up. Wave can see a set of words appear across the screen "ERROR. TERMINAL INTERFACE, INTERRUPTED. PLEASE RECONNECT INPUT, FOR TERMINAL ACCESS." The black armored Jaeger stood up, and waved his Comrades over "It's okay! Come take a look!"

The Jaegers have gathered around the device, as Run walks up and picks it back up. "Well done, Wave. You've managed to keep from getting blown apart." Esdeath commented coolly. Wave was about to retort, but Seryu steps up and claps him on his plated back "Way to go, Wave! You've put your faith in Justice, and see how it protects you." The black armored sailor turns away and quickly mumbled "Why didn't you do it yourself, if you were so confident..." He notices Kurome was standing in front of him when he blurted his contempt "Would you rather, I do it then?" she said with a teasing smirk on her face.

Wave goes quiet, as he stares down at the teenage assassin "Not funny…" he murmured. And Kurome's smirk faded, as she turned her head away "You're right…sorry". Wave places an armored hand on Kurome's shoulder "Remember your promise. Okay?" Akame's Younger Sister brushes the black armored Jaeger's hand away, and softly responds "I haven't forgotten." With both of them reaching an understanding, Wave and Kurome turned to look at Run as he studies the object with a keen interest.

"Have you learned anything yet, Run?" asked Esdeath. The General's Aide presses a few buttons and gazes at the screen as new words appear "TERMINAL SET TO STANDBY. PLEASE INPUT COMMAND." Run smiles "Fascinating." He explains "It appears, this device is some sort of operating system for the access and manipulation of data."

Seryu scratched her head in confusion "What's that supposed to mean? What do you call something like that?" Run turns around and addresses his fellow Jaegers "It's called a computer. It's a device that can provide information, as well as interface with complex machinery. Very few people in the world have something like this, and none of them had one this small and compact."

Everyone began to look impressed. "So, you're saying, this device as well as this place, are made from advanced technology?" asked Kurome. Run looks at her, and answers "Extremely advanced. To the point of extraordinary, I would say."

Esdeath held her chin in thought, then spoke "Run. You said that device can provide information? Can it give Us any information about this place? Or what has happened here?" The General's Aide gazes down at the Portable Terminal "Let me try something." Run looks over at the screen again and the words remain the same "PLEASE INPUT COMMAND." Below the words, a command prompt with a blinking cursor stood ready.

Run placed his fingers on the keyboard and carefully typed out a word "IDENTIFY." New words automatically began to form across the screen "I-ZK BETA-CORE PROCESSING, MULTIFUNCTION PERFORMANCE UNIT. MANUFACTURED BY WEYLAND-YUTANI CORPORATION"

The Jaegers looked at the words and were instantly confused. "Well, that didn't help very much." commented Wave. Beside him, Kurome nodded in agreement. Seryu drummed her foot with impatience "What's with all the techno-babble!? Can't you get it to make any sense?" Esdeath claps her on the shoulder to silence her. The General then studied the words closely "Weyland-Yutani. That word's been written all over this place." She recalls the words of the signs found back in Night Raid's camp.

The Jaegers' leader then points out to some of the Colony structures nearby, and revealed the same words painted of the sides. And below most of them, were written the words "Building Better Worlds" Seryu glared at the words with scrutiny "Building Better Worlds? Are they talking about serving Justice? Like the Jaegers and the Empire?"

Wave walked up to a nearby Weyland-Yutani sign, and stared for a second "The way these words are placed on most things, means it's a trademark. It's a brand name, to showcase products belonging to a certain merchant company or conglomerate." Run looks up at him "It makes a whole lot of sense. Good call, Wave." The Sailor Jaeger grinned appreciatively within his helmet "As a Man of the Sea, the first things I was taught, was to understand the concept of market trade, shipping, and commerce."

Kurome walks up to him and smirks "Somehow, Wave. I can't picture you as a bigshot business merchant or a market dealer." Not wanting to take the joke lying down, Wave lifts his chin up with dignity. "Let me take you out shopping one day. I'll show how business savvy I can be." The teen assassin blushes and replies "Sorry. But I'm not interested in things like that."

Esdeath clears her throat, and got Everyone's attention "It seems, we're beginning to learn the identity of the peoples involved with this place. Continue, Run. Let's see what else, this computer can tell Us." Run turns back to the Portable Terminal, and typed in another command "DESCRIBE FUNCTIONS." Another set of words appeared on screen "DATA ACCESS AND RETRIEVAL. HEAVY EQUIPMENT INTERFACE AND CONTROL. SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE, TROUBLESHOOTING, AND REPAIR." The winged Jaeger frowns and typed in more commands "DESCRIBE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS." The Portable Terminal responds and displays more words on screen "AIDE AND ASSIST COLONY PERSONNEL IN OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF LV-426 TERRAFORMING INSTALLATION."

Run nods, as if confirming something and turns to his fellow Jaegers "The people, who resided here, used this device in their daily tasks of operating this place, like some sort of tool. It provides assistance in the various operations to run an installation."

"What exactly, can they use it for?" asked Seryu. Run just shrugs, and answers "It can pull up and show any given data, or operate machinery that may be too big or complicated for humans to use."

Esdeath spoke up and commanded "Ask it to explain, who resided here, and where exactly did they go." The General's Aide resumed typing commands into the Portable Terminal "IDENTIFY COLONY PERSONNEL."

The computer responds with a list:

CURTIS HADLEY – FOUNDER

AL SIMPSON – ADMINISTRATOR

BRAD LYDECKER - ADMINISTRATOR ASSISTANT

CAPT. DEMIAN BRACKETT - COLONIAL MARINE COMMANDING OFFICER

DR. BARTHOLOMEW REESE – CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER

…

SGT. MARVIN DRAPER – COLONIAL MARINE RANKING OFFICER

DR. CHESTER LING – CHIEF SURGEON

JOHN MARACHUK – MAINTENANCE ENGINEER

…

RUSSELL JORDEN – GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEYOR

ANNE JORDEN – GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEYOR

…

This list goes on with several more names and designated ranks and positions. Esdeath and her Subordinates scrolled over the list keenly. "Don't know who any of these people are" she looks again at some of the names "Colonial Marines. The same military group as Corporal Hicks." she presumes.

Seryu gnashed her teeth at the mention of Hicks "These people are in league with that Criminal! They're Evildoers planning an invasion, and this is their base to stage it!" Run holds up a hand and interjected "Not likely, Seryu. There's hardly enough people on this list, who carry a military rank. Maybe enough to make up a squad or two, but that's it. He looks up and turns to Esdeath "So far, none of the information we've pulled would describe this place as some sort of base." The General nods "Agreed. This place doesn't have the look of a military base."

Wave crossed his arms with impatience "So what is this place then? An installation? What kind?" Run thinks back on the recent information "Terraforming Installation." He typed in a new command "DEFINE TERRAFORMING." Words scrolled across the screen to reveal the answer "TERRAFORM – THE PROCESS IN WHICH THE ENVIRONMENT IS ALTERED TO SUIT ONE'S DESIRED CONDITION. TYPICALLY UTILIZED AS A METHOD BY WHICH AN OTHERWISE INHOSPITABLE PLANET MAY BE RENDERED SUITABLE FOR COLONIZATION AND HABITATION."

Nobody said anything as they try to make sense of the definition. "I think, we found out the purpose of this place" explained Run "It seems that these people planned to change this entire planet into something that fits their needs, so that they may come and take it over. To colonize it, according to this info."

Kurome looked around the colony buildings suspiciously "You may be right, Seryu." She glanced at her auburn haired comrade "It seems, these people weren't from around here. And it looks like, they were trying to carry out an invasion." Seryu makes an angry scowled and nods. Beside her, Koro growls and eyes the buildings around them.

"That still doesn't explain what happened here, or where everybody went." said Wave. Run goes back to typing "EXPLAIN CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO INSTALLATION'S CURRENT CONDITION." A message instantly appears on screen "ERROR. AVAILABLE DATA INSUFFICIENT. PLEASE INTERFACE WITH COLONY ARCHIVES AND REFERENCE VISUAL DATA LOGS, OR CONSULT WITH ADMINISTRATOR AL SIMPSON.

Run frowns as he examines the response, and continues typing "WHERE IS ADMINISTRATOR AL SIMPSON?" another message instantly appears "ERROR. AVAILABLE DATA INSUFFICIENT. PLEASE INTERFACE WITH INSTALLATION MAIN COMPUTER TERMINAL AND REFERENCE PERSONAL DATA TRANSMISSION NETWORK."

"It doesn't know the answers to the questions we're asking." announced Run. His fellow Jaegers began to grow impatient

Kurome rolled her eyes "What a waste of time." Seryu began to reach for the Portable Terminal "Let's give it a few hits! Maybe that will get it to work right." Wave stepped in front of her "Run. Isn't there anything, you can do?" Esdeath quietly stood by and crossed her arms expectantly.

"Hold on. Let me see what I can try." Run scratched his head and resumed typing "WHERE IS COLONY ARCHIVES? WHERE IS MAIN TERMINAL?" a response appears on screen "CONTROL CENTER, COLONY OPERATIONS FACILITY, LEVEL 2." The General's Aide looked confused "CAN YOU PROVIDE SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS?" same as before "ERROR. AVAILABLE DATA INSUFFICIENT. PLEASE INTERFACE WITH INSTALLATION MAPPING TERMINAL AND REFERENCE COLONY SCHEMATIC OVERLAY."

"I think we've gotten all we're ever gonna learn from this device." declared Esdeath. She turns and addresses all her Subordinates "Let's get a move on. There's bound to be more clues inside those structures." She points at the colony buildings.

Run raises a hand "Hold on, Commander. There's one last thing I'd like to try" Esdeath glared at him, and gesture for him to proceed. The winged Jaeger typed in one more command into the Portable Terminal "DESCRIBE MOST RECENTLY PERFORMED TASKS." A few seconds passed and the computer responded "UPDATE VISUAL DATA. ACCESS ARCHIVED COLONY LOG FILES. ALIGN COLONY TRANSMITTER AT INSTALLATION COMMUNICATIONS UPLINK ASSEMBLY. INTERFACE WITH DROPSHIP OPERATIONS ABOARD U.S.S SULACO. SUPPLEMENT FLIGHT CONTROLS VIA REMOTE. PILOT UD-4L CHEYENNE PLANETARY/ORBITAL CONVEYANCE VESSEL 02 INTO ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY WITHIN LV-426."

Too many technical terms are mentioned, and Run couldn't comprehend most of it. With a sigh, he powers off the Portable Terminal and folds it closed. He then turns to his fellow Jaegers "We may have a lead" he announced "We need to find the Control Room inside someplace called Operations. Does anyone know where that is?"

Wave immediately stepped forward and answered "Yes. I've seen it. It's over there." He points to a tall building directly facing the massive coned structure that Esdeath froze with ice. On the building's side was the word "OPERATIONS" written in bold lettering.

The Jaegers all stood in front of a set of heavy doors marked "WEST LOCK" that led into the Operations building. The door was shut with no handle or bolt to open it. Only an electronic keypad can be seen next to the doors, and it was completely smashed. It looked like someone had been trying to keep something from coming in. Or keep something from getting out.

Wave walks up to the sealed doors "I'll try prying it open" he slipped his armored fingers through the seam and began pulling aside one of the sliding doors. "Koro! Help him." Seryu commands her biological Imperial Arm to enlarge his arms and assist Wave by pulling open the other door. With a dull metallic groan, the doors began to part open and a rush of outside wind blew into the stale darkness within.

All eyes tried to peer through the gloom of the ruined building, but no one can see past the darkness that greeted them. "I can't see a thing." said Wave "How are we supposed to know what's in there?" Kurome stood next to him and stared quietly at the building interior. She wasn't enthused about stepping blindly into someplace much darker than the Serpents' Hive.

Unlike the Hive, which was made by the Creatures' translucent slime and allowed sunlight to filter in through gaps in the construction, the Colony Buildings are solid steel which make up the thick walls and heavy doors. Only slivers of light can penetrate the small cracks of damage. It would be pitch black in there without a viable light source. And Anything could be crawling inside these buildings.

"Here. Use these." Run held up a bag taken from the Bird Wyvern, and produced a bundle of unlit torches. "I packed these. Just in case, we found ourselves in another dark place" he lights the torches and hands one to Esdeath, Wave, and kept the last for himself. Seryu holds out her right arm "Koro! Number 9!" the biological Imperial Arm clamped his enlarged mouth onto the arm, and spat it back out with the Justice City Detector attached. Kurome draws Muramasa, and strained against the burden as power transferred into her body. She holds up the katana Imperial Arm, as its red blade began to glow.

Esdeath addressed her Subordinates "Okay. We should have enough light to safely navigate the buildings. Let's get in formation. Wave. Koro. You're on point. Seryu and Run will take center. And Kurome and I will bring up the rear."

The Jaegers' leader stole a quick glance at the south, were the Serpents' corpses and Night Raid's camp was located. She unsheathes her newly replaced rapier and coated it with ice "We don't know what We'll find in there. So be ready for anything." Seryu drew her Tonfa Guns and held them readily. Wave held up his torch and stood at the front. Koro grew to medium size and stood next to the black armored Jaeger. Run tucked the Portable Terminal in the bag that held the torches and slung it over a shoulder. He steps next to Seryu, as he held his torch ready. Kurome walked up next to Esdeath.

When all of the Jaegers assumed their positions, Esdeath signaled them to press forward. Wave carefully stepped through the doorway and into the dark building, with Koro stomping beside him. They both swept the gazes side to side, as the black armored sailor held forth his torch. After a moment of determining to coast is clear, he beckoned for the others to step inside. Run and Seryu entered next, followed by Kurome and Esdeath. Everyone quickly scanned the building interior and observed their surroundings. At first the corridor leading into the structure seemed normal, if not strictly utilitarian. Long winding cables and pipes ran along the walls and ceilings, often slipping underneath level support struts. Ductwork and pipes ran alongside or beneath a steel floor grating. Despite the corridors design for every single space to be used, it was still broad enough to accommodate three average sized adults to walk side by side.

This industrial pathway resembled nothing like what the Jaegers are used to, back at the Imperial Palace with its large hallways of marble and stone. No one said anything as they cautiously made their way down the metal path.

As the Jaegers rounded a corner, they saw the true conditions of the structure they're in. The Operations building is a wreck. Loose pipes and cable wires stuck out and tangled all over the corridor path, like entrails. Large bulky equipment and wall paneling lay strewn about, cluttering areas here and there. And in very few places on the floor, were holes of melted steel. The burn damage looked all too familiar.

"The Serpents were here!" Wave called out urgently "They overtook this place like any other. Probably killed whoever resided here." Run spoke up in a calm manner "Take it easy. We still don't know exactly what happened." Then Esdeath addressed everyone "Regardless. Let's proceed cautiously. We stay together and alert." Everyone turned to Seryu expectantly. The auburn haired Jaeger glared down at her Justice City Detector "I'm not picking up anything. This place might be empty." No one wanted to say it out loud, but the Justice City Detector has been fooled before.

"Seryu's equipment can track the Creatures when They move. There's no avoiding that, so We're not likely going to be taken by surprise anytime soon." That got everyone less anxious and resolved to continue. As long as each individual stay aware of what's around them, they'll see the threat coming. The Jaegers continue on down the ravaged corridor. The further in they go, the more heavy and widespread the damage showed. Scorch marks and bullet holes joined in and mingled with the destruction.

"Whoever lived here, it looks like they've put up a fight." Kurome commented. Wave turned back and asked "Maybe they've fought Them off and drove Them out?" Esdeath points ahead and answered "Not likely." Along the walls in front of the group, was an old dry bloodstain. A large one. No one spoke further and pushed on. They need to find answers, and soon.

Further down the corridor, the Jaegers came upon a forked path. One path leads to a set of stairs, and the other leads into a different corridor. On the wall where the path diverge, a set of directions were stamped

\- MEDICAL

MAINTENANCE -

OPERATIONS LV-2 -^

SANITATION, UTILITY -v

Run points at the stairwell "The computer said, we have to get to Level 2. That's where the Control Room is." Everyone began to climb up the stairwell, but had to stop before they reached the top.

A large makeshift barricade stood at the end of the stairs. The blockade itself was comprised of heavy equipment welded together with steel wall paneling, and clumps of mesh stuffed in between. The barricade looked solid, if it wasn't for a gaping hole right through the center. The opening appeared to have been smashed open from this side, by a hideously powerful force.

"We're going through, one at a time." Esdeath commanded. Wave was the first one through, and he found himself in another corridor similar to the one downstairs. And it was just as torn up. The walls at the far end were completely riddled with bullet holes and acid splash burns. Near it, was a corner turn off. And the path leading to it had countless large holes burned right through the floor grating. The black armored Jaeger can already guess what made those holes. But so far, he sees nothing moving within his view of the torchlight.

"It looks clear. You can come through." Wave called out. Koro shrunk in size and passed through the barrier opening, then came Seryu, Run, Esdeath, and finally Kurome. Everyone eyed the distant bend and noted the fresh devastation it exhibited.

"Seryu, anything?" Esdeath asked her Subordinate. Seryu kept an eye glued to her Justice City Detector, then she turned to answer her Commander "No. Nothing." The blue haired General nods and motioned for the group to continue.

"This looks recent." Run speculates, as the Jaegers approach the widespread damage near the bend. Wave kept point, with a still shrunken Koro by his side. As they rounded the corner, Wave called back to them "We must be getting close to Our destination. I hope We find something-" _Boom! Boom! Boom!._ A series of explosive shots rang out from the end of the corridor.

An unseen force blew Wave off his feet, and sent him hurling back at his Comrades. He slams into Seryu and Run, and knocks them down. Koro dashes forward while growing to large size, and blocked the sudden barrage with his own body. Esdeath had dodged behind the corner for cover.

As quickly as it started, the sounds of explosive shots stopped altogether, and the Jaegers' leader stuck her head out to see Koro regenerating his body after absorbing the hits.

Esdeath held up her torch, and illuminated the end of the corridor. She sees another crude barricade blocking off further access. And in front of barrier, sat two large machines with gun barrels on top swiveling side to side.

The Automated Sentry Turrets aimed at Esdeath, and an audible dry _Click_ sounded off. These weapons are now empty, having expended the last of reserved ammo when they assaulted Wave and Koro.

Seryu and Run began to push a stunned Wave off of themselves "What in the name of Justice, was that!?" Seryu yelled out. Esdeath stood down the middle of the corridor, and confirmed the attack has ended. "Some kind of automated weaponry for point defense." she surmised "Whatever it was, it's stopped." The General turned back to the Others "Sound off! Is everyone okay?"

"Wave's down!" Run was strenuously trying to roll Wave off of him and Seryu, then they flipped the armored sailor on his back. When they accomplished this, they went over their comrade's condition.

Grand Chariot's black armor had a dented plate near the abdominal area. The chest plating above it, has been partially blown off, leaving Wave's chest and clothing exposed. Wave himself was gasping and wheezing in shallow breathes. He had the wind knocked out of him, by the Sentry Turrets' explosive shots.

"Dammit!... _gasp..._ That…Hurts… _gasp..._ like a Son of a Bitch!" Wave swore and cursed between shaky breathes. He deactivates his black armor Imperial Arm, and tries to recuperate. Run and Seryu grabbed his arms and helped him with sitting up. Esdeath and Koro walked back towards them and looked down at them.

Wave lifted his shirt and jacket, and felt the large bruise on the side of his stomach. Run and Seryu turned to Koro with a delicate expression. If the biological Imperial Arm hadn't intercepted the last few bullets, Wave's upper torso would have been blown clean off. And if Koro and Wave haven't been taking point, or those extremely high-tech weapon sentries had more ammo, the Jaegers would have been completely shot to pieces.

Seryu took a close look at the Automated Sentries down the end of the corridor and growled furiously "It was a trap! Those cowardly bastards set Us up with a lowly barrage volley, instead of confronting Us themselves!"

Esdeath studied the bullet holes and acid burns closely and calls out "Indeed, this was a trap. But, it was not meant for Us." She points at the large holes in the floor "This was another attempt at combating the Serpents, to repel Them." The General indicates the barricade erected behind the Sentry Guns "And it seems they succeeded. This barrier here remains intact. The Creatures never made it past this point. Those guns did their part well." Run nods in agreement "Yes. Quite an achievement from these people's technology. And the firepower, it provides."

Wave glowers, and retorts "You're talking about something, that very nearly blew us apart!" he turns to Seryu and grumbled "Shouldn't your radar scope have picked up on these things?" Seryu turned her amber eyes away "They're stationary, and probably covered by some sort of insulated material to mask their heat signatures." Esdeath then cuts in on the explanation "Must've been designed for optimum camouflage, to use for efficiently staging an ambush. Which means, these are some kind of military equipment."

Run looks over the Sentry Guns "Pretty formidable. Much like that Corporal Hicks and his Airship." Seryu makes an angry expression "It can't be just a coincidence. He's linked to this, somehow. I just know it." Esdeath turned and look at her Subordinates, and noticed something wrong "Where's Kurome?"

Run, Wave, and Esdeath all held up their torches and scanned the entirety of the dimly lit corridor. They found no sign of Kurome, she had vanished.

"Kurome?" Wace sounded out, hoping the teenage assassin would show herself. Seryu stood up and joined the search "I don't understand. She was right behind me, when-" she abruptly stops talking, once she checked her footing and realized there was a very large hole in the floor, right behind where she's standing. Beside the hole was Doya's Revolver Pistol, that Kurome had equipped.

Run cautiously approached the hole, and picked up the Revolver Pistol on the floor grating near the edge. He was about to ask "You don't think, she fell in?" but the answer was obvious, and the evidence was apparent. Wave ran to the edge of the hole and screamed down it "Kurome!" There was no sound or voice response.

Wasting no time, Wave was about to lower himself over the edge, until Run seized him by the shoulders and pulled him back. "Let me go, Run! Kurome needs help" growled the sailor Jaeger. But the General's Aide kept a strong hold and spoke up "Don't be stupid, Wave! Listen to me! That's a straight drop all the way down. You can't even see the bottom."

Wave peered down the hole and sees that Run is right. The hole was burned wide open by acid blood, and that same fluid had dripped down beneath Level-2 and kept burning holes all the way down past the lower Levels. And with the poor lighting, there's no way to make out how deep the hole went.

Wave turned to Run "Run. Maybe you can use Mastema and try-" Run held up a hand and stopped his request "No, I can't. The radius of that hole isn't wide enough for Mastema's wings. And the top hole is usually the biggest. I won't be able to use my Imperial Arm properly for a safe descent, let alone be able to fly back up."

"Koro! Number 4!" Seryu held out her left arm, and Koro clamped his large mouth on it and swapped the mechanical arm for the hookshot. "I can use this to climb down safely to Kurome's location." explained Seryu "I'll render aid to her, if she's injured. And I'll bring her back up here." Run shakes his head at the amber eyed young woman "We don't know Kurome's condition. Tend to her if you can, but don't try to move her if she's seriously hurt."

Esdeath walked towards her Subordinates and spoke "When you find her, try to remain where you are and We'll come to you" she indicates the stairwell the Jaegers used "Wave, Run, and I will check level by level to determine the route towards the bottom. Once We find you and Kurome, We'll all take the navigated path back up."

Seryu nods at her orders. Beside her, Run hands her the Revolver Pistol "We don't have a clue of what might be down there. You need to be ready to defend yourself and Kurome, if need be." The auburn haired Jaeger nods again and tucks the Revolver Pistol inside her belt.

Seryu launched the hookshot, and it grappled onto a steel girder on the ceiling. After testing to make sure the line is securely set, she motions for Koro to come with her. The biological Imperial Arm shrunk to normal size and climbed onto Seryu's shoulder. The amber eyed young woman then suspends herself over the gaping hole and began to lower towards the dark below.

Wave calls down to her "You be careful down there, Seryu! You and Kurome stay together, and wait until We reach you." Seryu looks up and salutes "We'll be fine, Wave. Justice always rescues and protect the helpless." She continues to zip line her way down and disappears from sight.

 **Outskirts of the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Hicks and Mine knelt atop a rocky outcropping overlooking the City of Kyoroch. Hicks was using his Motion Tracker to look for anyone who might be wandering close by. Mine was scoping out the landscape with her scan visor to make sure she and her Comrades are alone out here. Akame, Tatsumi, and the Others were hanging back and patiently waiting for the two lookouts to complete their sweep.

After a moment, Hicks and Mine fell back and joined the rest of the group. "Tracker's negative." Hicks announced "My scans shows nothing else is moving out here, besides Us." Mine nods her head and concurs. "I've located two separate paths." she explains "One can take me and Tatsumi to the city's eastern outskirts. The other can lead Akame and Hicks to the west."

Within the group, the teenage spy Pais raises her hand "Me and Litone know a hidden route into the city, that can allow the rest of Us to enter without drawing unwanted attention." She indicates Lubbock, Leone, and Chelsea "Once We get inside, and the distraction teams are in position, I'll rouse the Spy Team into wandering around the city in order to lure out the Rakshasa Demons. Once the members of the Spy Team attract a pursuer, they'll make for the closest ambush point."

Lubbock nods and speaks "As soon as that happens, I'll sneak Leone and Chelsea into the cathedral. Then once they're safely inside, I'll come provide backup for the others." He got nods all around.

Hicks places his hands forward "Hands In" he commanded with authority. Everyone threw a hand over his without hesitation, then the Corporal spoke "We're in this together, we fight together, and we're seeing tomorrow together. That's a fact, so don't try to prove me wrong." Akame, Tatsumi, Pais and Litone nod in determination. Mine, Leone, Lubbock and Chelsea smiled and smirked. "Then let's saddle up, and bag Us some dead Imperials. Oorah to ashes." Everyone threw up their hands and began to move out.

As Tatsumi and Mine started down their path, Tatsumi called out to Lubbock, Leone and Chelsea "You guys be careful in that lion's den" Leone giggles and jokes "I am the Lion!" Lubbock shakes his head in annoyance "Keep it down Leone! Both you and Chelsea hurry up and put on your hoods."

As Leone and Chelsea raised the hoods on their robes, Chelsea winks at Tatsumi "You be careful too, Tatsumi. I expect you to have at least all four kills." The green eyed fighter fidgets and wondered how he can accomplish such an outrageous demand. Next to him, Mine looked over to Hicks and Akame, and called out "Hey, Hicks. Try not to die. Or worse, get in Akame's way."

Hicks smirks and retorts "Oh, don't worry your pretty little head, Baby Girl. Marines don't die. They go to Hell, and regroup." The pink haired sniper scratched her head and wondered if the Corporal was telling the truth, but Tatsumi tugged her sleeve and urged her to move along. With a frown, Mine continued down the eastern path.

Akame sprinted down the western path, but stopped a ways down it and waited for a steadily jogging Hicks to catch up. "Thanks" he said in steady breathes "I'm sorry for holding you back like this." The red eyed assassin shakes her head "Think nothing of it. You're right about Us having to work together. It wouldn't be professional of me, to ditch my partner." Hicks smiled "I bet, you could have ran ahead, scope out the area, and come back to me before I even reach halfway." Akame smiles back and said "I wouldn't be exaggerating, if I say it's within my capacity."

Hicks' smile fades and he dons a serious look "You're not very old, are you Akame? If I had to guess, you're in your late teens. Yet, you're in peak physical condition, maybe even beyond that. Can you tell me how you've come to be so strong?" Akame's smile also fades as she listens to his request "So, you want to learn about my past as well. Am I right?" The Corporal nods "It's not that I don't trust you. Ripley vouched for you, and Everyone holds you in high regard." The red eyed assassin's smile returns "The same can be said about you. I'll tell you what. I'll say a little bit about my past, and in return you tell me more about yourself and the world you've come from."

"Deal." Answered Hicks. Akame draws in a breath and spoke "When I was a child, my sister and I were sold into slavery by our parents." Hicks was taken aback by this revelation "So, this is why she asked about slavery in my world" he thought. The Marine looks back at Akame "So, you have a sister? What's her name? Where is she?" Akame shakes her head and speaks "Your turn."

"Well, my childhood wasn't anything remarkable." Hicks explained "I was born to a family of military servicemen. My father was a Marine, and his father before him." Akame tilted her head "But, you had a choice. Didn't you? You chose to join the military?" The Corporal nods in response "Yes. That's right." The assassin lowers her crimson gaze and bites her lip "My younger sister and I never had a choice. After we were sold, The Empire purchased us in secret. We were then subjected to brutal survival training from the start. Not many survive this test. Most were children the same age as us. The remaining survivors are then put through more harsh training, in order to turn us into ruthless assassins. Weapons for killing the Empire's enemies."

Hicks began to clench his hands into fists. His desire to kill Imperials grew exponentially. "Where exactly did this take place?" he asked. Akame took a pause to think "It's near an old compound by a large forest near the edge of the Capitol. Kurome knows it, as well as I do."

"Kurome…" Hicks recognized that name. It belonged to that young girl with the black hair and dark eyes. "Come to think of it, they both like very much alike." he surmised, then he glared over at Akame "Your sister is a member of the Jaegers. She was there, when Bishop and I first encountered them." The red eyed assassin quietly nods.

Hicks was in disbelief "How can that be!? What happened to you two, that you both wound up on opposing sides?" Akame shakes her head again "It's your turn, this time. Tell me more about the people you worked with. What were your comrades like?" The Corporal mused for a bit, then he began to speak "I was part of 2nd Battalion Bravo Team. A quick response unit made up of 12 marines in 2 squads for combat operations, and 1 synthetic for technical operations. We provide a rapid tactical element to resolve all nature of crisis within far ranging colonies and installations."

Akame began to look uncertain, so Hicks used layman's terms "We go to far away places, destroy anything bad, and rescue anyone who needs help." When the confusion vanished from Akame's face, the Corporal began to describe his teammates "We were a close knit group. Pretty much like a family. Apone was much like your commander Najenda, a well respected and caring leader. Though his jokes were a little more funnier than what Najenda can come up with."

Both of them started chuckling for a moment, and Hicks continued "Gorman and Ferro were also like Najenda, in that they were both straight laced and business-like. Drake and Vasquez were gung-ho and had itchy trigger fingers, a trait that's similar to Mine. Crowe and Wierzbowski were light-hearted and reserved, just like Tatsumi. Frost was the geeky wit, a personality shared by your comrade Lubbock. Spunkmeyer and Dietrich definitely had the same amount of sassiness, as Chelsea. And of course Hudson was just as flamboyant and flirtatious, as your friend Leone." Akame giggled once more at the comparison to her best friend, then she looked up questioningly "Was that everybody? There was no one similar to me?"

Hicks makes an apologetic look "Sorry, Akame. But it seems, you're very unique. In my World, we don't have a whole lot of Athletic Mysterious Beauties who could single-handedly win Olympic gold medals and Beauty Pageants left and right." Akame giggled once more and lightly blushed.

Akame smiles again and nods in understanding "You're just like us, in Night Raid and those in the Jaegers" she explains "You're a specialized fighting group, who fought together and bonded for a long time." Hicks rubs the back of his head in hesitation "Well, I wouldn't consider us anything special. But everyone in the team, were at the top of their game." He turns his gaze away in regret "But none of that made any difference, when we went up against the Aliens. We were easily wiped out in less than 24 hours."

Akame placed a hand on his shoulder "Your people couldn't have known what they were dealing with, back then. Ripley said that the Xenomorph's were most dangerous when They're mysterious and unknowable. To not understand it, was to underestimate it. Even the most seasoned of warriors in this World can fall prey to such a common mistake."

Hicks continued to look away in sorrow "You don't understand. Ripley tried to make us recognize the threat, but we scoffed at her warnings and chalked them up to a scared woman's ravings. My whole team, including myself, did not think of it as anything more than some simple stupid bug hunt. We let our overconfidence blind us from the true horrors we beheld that day."

Akame lightly shook the Marine, and explained "We can't let ourselves get hung up on past mistakes. As soldiers, ours is to obey orders and kill the enemy. When such a concept becomes routine, we numb ourselves to personal feelings or doubts. We pushed aside our capacity for wanting to understand the target, because we felt it'd be pointless to intimately know that which we intend to kill."

The Corporal looked at her and the red eyed assassin held his gaze "I too, have made such mistakes. I was led to believe a long time ago that it was okay to kill, if it was for a good cause. Back then, I fully believed that killing for the Empire was the right thing to do. Little did I know, was that very same Empire was evil and corrupt. The strong preyed on the weak, and the privileged treated the lesser like playthings."

Akame looked away in shame "For a long time, I've been ignorant to the truth and kept on killing at the bidding of other's. Until one day when I was to eliminate my last target, who so happened to be Najenda herself, she finally convinced me to see the errors of my ways. And from that day forward, I resolved to turned my sword against the Empire that robbed me and my sister of our freedom as well as warped and twisted our will and beliefs."

Tears began to form in Akame's crimson eyes "But it was too late for my sister Kurome. She was taken from me and we were separated, before I came to learn the truth. She is still dependent on the Empire, and remains their servant through drugs and brainwashing." Akame placed a hand on Murasame's hilt "I may never be able to convince her into leaving that damned place. With her current condition, the only option is force."

Hicks stared for a minute, then he reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a peculiar looking blue colored ammo shell "Do you see this? It's called a stun round. A specialized type of ammo that delivers a paralyzing electric shock into a target's body. The result is a temporary, but complete paralysis to a target that makes capture possible." The red eyed assassin held her chin in thought "Are you suggesting, we use this on Kurome-"

"And she goes limp and stiff like whiskey dick. Thus allowing Us to gag her, bag her, and drag her, else we tag her." Hicks finishes with a wink.

Akame began to look uncertain "As much as I want Kurome to come back to me, why are you and Ripley willing to go out of the way to make it so? Even though my Younger Sister is clearly the Enemy, who'd sooner kill all of Us than try to reason with."

Hicks makes a serious expression "Because we care about you, Akame. This World has taken so much from a innocent girl, such as yourself. Me and Ripley have seen too many losses at the hands of the Aliens. And we've seen victims like the Colonists who were hunted and harvested like cattle, and orphans like Newt who wound up parentless, and traumatized into feral wrecks."

The Marine adjusts the strap on his Pulse-Rifle, and kept on hiking "When me and Bishop first encountered and escaped from the Jaegers, I swore that I wouldn't leave monsters such as them to reap and ravage anymore innocents. That goes the same with the Aliens. As far as I can tell, neither of them are any different from each other. They kill, consume, and spread misery far throughout." He makes a solemn grin at Akame "So you can bet your sweet ass, we're not gonna let you lose your cherished little sister. We'll get Kurome back. No matter what cold dark Abyss, she may lie in. Or how far we'd have to reach, to get to her."

 **Below Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Kurome opened her eyes amidst the soreness spreading throughout her body. She ached all over, but from the way she can move her limbs and head, she appears to have received no injuries. "What happened? Where am I?" she wondered.

It was pitch black all around where Kurome sat. Her only light source, Muramasa's glowing red blade wasn't showing. She had dropped the sword for some reason. Then it dawned on her, about how she ended this way. "Wave!" she called out, but nothing answered. The only sound that came to her were the thin trickling of dripping water. Further on, the teenage Jaeger can hear the hushed sloshing of another water source.

"This must be some sort of reservoir or a sewer. How did I get here, anyway?" Kurome racked her thoughts and tried to remember "We were looking for the Control Room, Wave was out front alongside Koro, something blasted at the them, and Wave was sent hurling towards Us." And that was all she could recall. Anything that came after that, was blackness.

The teen assassin checked her surroundings "Speaking of blackness." The darkness smothered all around Kurome and it was making her uncomfortable. She's effectively blind, and being blind puts one in a dangerous predicament. Not wasting another second, she placed her hands beneath her and felt all around where she sat.

As soon as she did that, Kurome instantly felt something hard and smooth beneath her. And it was slimey too. "Ugh!" she gasped, not wanting to even try to guess what she's touching. "Come on! Where is it!?" Her hand brushed against a familiar solid object "There!" she wrapped her hand around Muramasa's hilt and held the sword aloft. The Imperial Arm's blade glowed as it began to transfer energy into Kurome's body. After bearing the initial strain of the power transfer, the teenage assassin stood up and observed her surroundings in the glowing light. What she saw next nearly shocked her.

Piled in heaps beneath Akame's Younger Sister, were more carcasses of dead Aliens. "So, the Serpents were here." Kurome surmised, as she clambered off the pile and stepped onto a grated floor. Relying on the reddish glow of Muramasa's blade, Kurome studied her immediate surroundings once more. Bodies of dead Creatures littered the space around her, forming piles similar to the one she was on top of. Far above them were round holes of acid burns made by the Serpents' blood.

"Those holes looked the same as the ones found in the corridor, leading to the Control Room." Kurome speculated, as she began to make a connection to her current situation "I must've fallen down one of the holes" she thought. Then she looked back at the piled bodies "And landed down here safely, when one of these broke my fall."

She cautiously approached a carcass and felt along Its side. The texture was smooth and oily from Its own slime. Most of Its torso was firm and solid. But, somehow rigor mortis hasn't set in and the muscles remained spry and loose. Which probably allowed it to cushion Kurome's small body, when she fell. Lucky for her, none of the claws or tail blade were facing upwards, or else she would've been shredded or stabbed.

Kurome's fingers began to tingle, and she quickly withdrew her hand as she remembered about the acid blood. The tingling sensation went away, and Kurome gazed at the holes and carcasses once again. "The acid blood probably began losing its potency, after the Creature's death. Between that and the amount used to burn those hole…" she shrugs and chose not to question good fortune. She's still alive, and not in immediate danger.

"For now, at least." Kurome thought, as she warily eyes the Alien corpses. "These Things are hard to kill, and They don't die very easily." She backed away from the bodies, and checked her armaments. "I'm missing Doya's Revolver Pistol." Kurome realized, and she glared back over towards the hole she presumably fell through.

Suddenly a green blur swooped down from the hole, and landed atop the carcass. "Ah!" Kurome yelled and reflexively swung her katana forward. Seryu holds up an arm, just in time to block and catch the blade with her mechanical hand "Whoa, whoa! Easy there, Girl! It's me! Seryu! Your fellow Ally of Justice! Remember?"

Kurome withdrew Muramasa and threw her arms around Seryu "Sorry about that! I'm glad you're here." She releases the auburn haired murderess, and lightly patted Koro's head.

Seryu threw a concerned frown "Well, you seem to be okay. You're not hurt, are you?" Kurome double checked her arms, legs, and body for any cuts and bruises. "No. I don't think so." the teenage assassin announced, then she made her own worried frown "What about Wave, and the Others? Is Everyone okay?" the amber eyed Jaeger nods "They're all fine. Wave got blasted at, by some kind of weapon. His Imperial Arm protected him, so he'll be alright. But he sure wasn't happy about the ordeal."

Kurome felt relieved, and her comrade smiles as she hands her the Revolver Pistol "You've dropped this, when you fell down that hole. That's how We figured out what happened to you." The teen assassin takes the Revolver from Seryu and holstered it.

"I'd keep it handy, if I were you." Seryu warned. Kurome looks at her in confusion "Why's that? Aren't you going to get me out of this place, and rejoin Our Comrades?" Seryu shakes her head and explains "My Grapple Line bottomed out at a couple of levels above this place. Before I can figure what to do next, I saw your glowing sword down below. I decoupled my line and dropped down to land, hoping to find you quickly." Koro trotted up from behind and held up a spare mechanical arm to her, and she took it and swapped out her Hookshot before clipping it to a strap on her backside.

Kurome gazed forlornly at the hole in the ceiling above. It wasn't too high for her to reach by jumping, but it was too dark for her to see any ledges. Climbing back up through there, doesn't seem like a safe option. "I've kept track of the floors, as I made my descent." continued Seryu "We're about three levels below ground."

"We need to get moving." Kurome declared "Finding and regrouping with Our Comrades should be Our top priority." Seryu frowned and shook her head "Sorry, Kurome. Commander Esdeath said for Us to remain here, and wait for the her to come find Us-" _Groar!_

A booming roar sounded off in the distance. It sounded angry. And close.

Kurome glared at Seryu anxiously "Still wanna wait around and see who finds Us first?" Seryu frowned and drew her Tonfa Guns with pompous resolve "Justice never runs from Evil!" Beside her, Koro growled in readiness. But, Kurome was already walking down the grated path, towards the only tunnel leading out of here. "If those Things are down here with Us, We'll need to regroup with the other Jaegers." She drew her Revolver and checked to make sure the chambers are fully loaded. "We can't take on more than a handful of Serpents, with the weapons we have now. Let alone, anything as big as what made that sound. Even with Koro by our side, we're still at a disadvantage in this limited spacing."

The teenage assassin looks back at the auburn haired murderess "Better to relocate and see if we can find a way out of here first, while we still have time." Kurome waved and beckoned for Seryu to follow her, and the latter quietly complied.

Esdeath, Run, and Wave cocked their ears, and listened for any more sounds like that roar. It sounded far off, and the complex structure of the building made It hard to pinpoint. Though it vaguely sounded like It was coming from below. The three Jaegers looked over at the directions stamped on a nearby wall. They are currently in the corridor leading to MAINTENANCE, and the path beyond leads to the HANGAR.

Wave broke the silence and called out "What the Hell was that, just now?" Run gazed down the corridor they were standing in, and replied "It doesn't sound friendly." He turned to Esdeath questioningly. "It means, We're not alone in here" the General explains, while checking her rapier and recoating it with ice "We need to find Kurome and Seryu, quickly. So let's keep moving, double time! Wave remains on point, Run, you stay center, and I'll keep bringing up the rear."

Run points over at a burn hole "That's gotta be the one, Kurome fell through. It underlaps the one above." Wave stabs Grand Chariot's cutlass into the grated floor and reactivated his Imperial Arm's black armor. When his change is complete, he looks over at the General's Aide "So, We go one more Level below. Right?" Esdeath and Run gave the black armored sailor concurring nods, and the trio made for the stairwell.

"The next level down is SANITATION/UTILITY." explained Run. Esdeath shrugs and responds "What of it?" The General's Aide spoke informatively "Typically, an installation this advanced, would require a power source of some kind to run it. As well as the necessary equipment and facilities to support a population, like water and warmth. If we happen to locate a power source, we might be able to restore this Colony's systems. Then, We can at least turn on some lights and access more computer systems."

Esdeath held her chin in thought and finally spoke "We locate Seryu and Kurome, first. After that, we kill whatever's lurking down here. Then, We'll look for your theoretical power source." Wave and Run nod in confirmation. The three Jaegers reached the stairs and began climbing down.

"Hold on, Kurome" Wave murmured "I'm coming for you."

 **The City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Lubbock, Leone, and Chelsea kept their heads down, as they follow closely behind Pais and Litone. Both Spies and Assassins were navigating through an underground passage that led into a building within the city marketplace. When they reached the end of the passage, they found themselves coming out of a cellar door and into a spacious room full of chairs, couches, and tables.

"This is one of the few remaining safe houses, we have left in the city." Pais explained "We'll wait here, until both distraction teams are in position and ready. Then Litone and I will hook up with the remaining members of the Spy Team, and run as decoys throughout the city. Once we have the Rakshasa Demons' attention, we'll give Mr. Lubbock here the go ahead for getting you two into the Church." She indicates Leone and Chelsea "I'm sorry to say. But once you're inside, you're on your own."

Leone cracks her knuckles and checked Lionelle's belt tucked beneath her robe "Don't worry. We can handle it." Beside her, Chelsea took another lollipop from Gaea Foundation's compartment, and place it in her mouth. She then hid her Imperial Arm beneath her robe, just like Leone. "Just get Us inside that Cathedral, and We'll take care of the rest." Chelsea assured.

Lubbock spoke into the mic of his headset and spoke ("This is Lubbock with an Update. The decoy team backup team, and elimination team are in place and standing by.")

Bishop responds first over the radio ("Roger. I have a fix on your position within the city. The weather forecast shows clear and sunny, all day. So visibly shouldn't be an issue.")

Najenda speaks up from her headset ("Distraction team. What's your status?")

Hicks' response was immediate ("This is Hicks. Akame and I have reached our position, and are readying our ambush.") He glances over at Akame who gives him a thumbs-up.

Ripley spoke after ("Mine. Tatsumi. Where are you guys at?")

A few seconds passed by and Mine's voice sounded over the comms ("We're nearly there. Give us about a minute.")

Najenda replied in an irritated voice ("Well, get the lead out! You two are holding up the Operation. And We can't proceed, until you're in position and ready!")

Mine rolled her eyes and catches up with Tatsumi, as they enter a ravine near the entrance of an old ruin. ("Roger. We're here and in position. Over and out.")

("Copy that.") Bishop responded. He goes over his various computer control consoles and affirmed everyone's placement and condition. The Synthetic Android speaks into his headset soon after ("Pais. Lubbock. You're cleared to proceed.") Najenda speaks up and issued the orders ("Get going, you Guys! We don't know how long it takes for the Enemy to take the bait. But we've got the better part of the day, to make it happen.")

Pais takes a deep breath and responds ("Okay. Spy Team moving out!") she gives Litone a nod, and they both opened the front door out of the safe house and made ready to step out into the streets. Lubbock makes a grin and called after them "Good luck out there! And be careful!" The teenage spy looks back and smiles "Don't worry! My darling here is right by my side." Litone gives a thumbs-up "I'll definitely protect someone who's most important to me." A heart floats out of Pais as the Spy couple left the building.

Lubbock's eye began to twitch. "Eh? So that's how it is…" he muttered to himself. Behind him, Leone slaps him hard on the back "Better luck, next time lover boy."

The green haired defense operative grumbled as he approached the doorway. "I'm moving ahead, to clear a path towards that church." Lubbock announced "I'll come back for you two, as soon as the way is clear."

Chelsea sat patiently on a chair, while Leone lounged on a nearby couch. Chelsea calls out "See you, soon." Lubbock nods and speaks into his mic ("This is Lubbock. I'm heading out." He takes his hand off the mic, put on the hood of his coat, and stepped out through the door.)

Lubbock walked out into a bustling street within the marketplace. It was a bright day and the city was alive with business and commerce. Local people came and went as merchants filled their stalls with stocks of goods, and shoppers visited them to browse or purchase their wares. Nobody gave a second look to the lone member of Night Raid, as he made his way towards the cathedral.

"Good thing, my face is not known to the locals." Lubbock commented with a smirk "It'll definitely make it easier to pull this off. Then I'll definitely score some points with Najenda." He began whistling a merry tune, and kept walking.

High up above the street, a pair of individuals stood atop a nearby building as they quietly observed the people down below. One of them was a blonde and tan woman wearing a loose fitting martial arts garb and a bikini top. The other was a very large muscled man with a beard, who wore a similar garb with half a top and a pauldron.

The woman scanned the crowd diligently, until her green eyes rested on a particular person. "Hey, Sten" the tan woman spoke to her companion, as she eyes Lubbock with great interest. "Don't you think he's moving while constantly checking his surroundings?" she points directly at the unwary green haired assassin "More importantly, look at the way he walks"

Sten looks him over with his piercing yellow and black rimmed eyes and grinned menacingly "My instincts tell me, he's an enemy. He's carefully trying to conceal the way he walks. But I can tell, he's the type who moves cautiously as if in the midst of battle."

Mez licks her lips in anticipation. "So, he's another spy." She surmised, then she placed a fingernail against her salivated tongue "Let's Kill Him." Beside her, Sten kept up his sinister grin and replied "No Mez. Call it; Liberating His Soul." The two Rakshasa Demons stalked along the rooftops in pursuit of an unsuspecting Lubbock, waiting for an opportunity to attack him outside of public view.

Meanwhile, back at the eastern canyon, Mine takes her fingers off the mic and sat down on a large flat stone. "Phew! What the Hell's the hurry? We have plenty of time before sundown." she complained.

"You know as well as I do, that a whole lot is riding on this mission to succeed" explained Tatsumi "And We need to complete it fast, since time is really against Us." Mine shrugs and shake her head "Relax soldier boy. Everything will run its course eventually." Then she makes a mischievous grin "But if We happened to pull this off with time to spare, I sure wouldn't mind doing a little shopping in the marketplace."

Tatsumi glares at her "Your shopping habits can literally take days. That's the kind of time We can't afford to waste." Mine shrugs again and tries to act innocent "That's a pretty normal amount" she said nonchalantly. Then the pink haired gunner threw him a smug expression "A man who can't pardon a woman's shopping? How Shallow."

A pulsating vein formed on Tatsumi's head, as he bore the condescending taunt. He struggled to maintain his composure as he blabbered back "A woman who immediately teases about a guy being shallow, huh? How Shallow." The remark was relatively weak and lacked bite, but Mine still managed to take offense.

Mine stood up off her seat and growled "Bring it on! Let's determine the pecking order here, shall We!?" Tatsumi does likewise, and growled back "You should realize, you're wrong when implying that a pecking order exists despite Us working in the same organization!" Sparks began to form between their angry stares.

Suddenly, a voice rang out nearby "Please! Do not engage in violent arguments!"

Mine and Tatsumi turned towards the direction the voice was coming from, and they see a tall faired haired serene-looking man approach them. Behind him, followed a group of people garbed in formal attire. The serene-looking man himself wore a ceremonial robe that depicted him as some sort of religious priest.

The serene man held up a hand in an apologetic gesture "Oh, pardon me. That was rather intrusive of me, to speak without thinking." Both members of Night Raid grew startled as they recognize the man's features and demeanor. "Are you perhaps…" Mine started, as she fought hard to regain her composure "The Founder of the Path of Peace?"

The Lord nods and answers "Yes". He gazes around their surroundings and begins to explain "I check around the outskirts of town like this, every now and then." His tone was sincere, and he didn't inquire about what the genius sniper and the green eyed fighter were doing in a secluded area. Both assassins began to relax and stood at ease.

"Borick isn't among them" Tatsumi thought "So, the Spy Team was right. He must be sitting comfortably within his base."

The Lord closed his eyes and began speaking, as if in a trance "I can see it clearly." He then points at Mine and Tatsumi "You two are bound by the Red String of Fate." Both assassins checked themselves out, and were about to ask "What the Hell are you talking about?" until the Lord continued "So, instead of fighting, you should profess your love to each other!"

"Huh" Both members of Night Raid blurted in unison and spaced out for a second, after hearing the Lord's words. And then he adds "If you two became a couple, I would say that fighting once in a while would be fine."

"Huh!?" both assassins blurted in unison again, as they turn to face each other with blushing red faces.

"Yeah right!" Mine rambled sarcastically "Who'd want to go out with this impertinent screw-up!?" Tatsumi growled and retorted "Says You! Why would I go around with someone I can't stand!?" The Lord smiled peacefully and began walking past them with his entourage of disciples following close behind.

The two members of Night Raid argued further, completely unaware of the departure of the members of the Path of Peace.

 **Below Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Seryu held her Justice City Detector in front of her and stared intently at the radar-scope. Her and Kurome had been walking down a singular path for several minutes, after they have decided to move upon hearing that ominous roar. So far, they haven't encountered anything as they navigated the underground corridor.

"Nothing showing up on the Justice City Detector." murmured Seryu. She glances up at Kurome who was walking in front and lighting their path with Muramasa's glowing blade. There were several offshoots and doorways leading elsewhere, but Kurome kept pushing straight ahead.

"How do you know which way we need to go?" Seryu asked. The teenage assassin calmly answers back to her "Look above you. Do you see those conduits and pipes?" The amber eyed Jaeger gazed upwards, and noticed a cluster of said utility lines running along the ceiling. Kurome then explains "When lines like those are bunched up and concentrated together, it usually means a major outlet to another level or a centralized area that can lead to an exit."

The two young women and the biological Imperial Arm continued their trek through the winding corridor, for a while longer. Until they finally came upon a large set of doors. And stamped on the side of the doors, were directory words

ELEVATOR/STAIRWELL -^

AUXILIARY POWER STATION -

WATER PROCESSING FACILITY -v

"Our way up is through here." Kurome walks up to the doors and tried looking for a way to open them. Like the WEST-LOCK doors back on the surface, they had no handle or latch. There was a large switch on the side, which Kurome tried pressing, but got no response. It was electronic and therefore nonfunctional. "Dammit." swore the teenage assassin. She turns to look at her comrade "Seryu. If you don't mind?"

Seryu makes a clever smirk and turns to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro! Pry it open." Koro grows to large size and sprouts muscular arms. He grasps the doors and pulled them apart with all his might. With an audible groan, the doors slowly slid apart on their rails.

A spacious area lies beyond the doors, and somehow it appeared darker than previous areas. Seryu glanced back to her Justice City Detector, while panning it around side to side to get as much sweeping coverage. The radar-scope remained silent and clear, with no signal blips appearing. The auburn haired young woman turn to Kurome and nodded.

The teenage assassin stepped forward and held up Muramasa, letting the Imperial Arm's angry red glow radiate forth to illuminate the area. Visibility is still dim, as the glowing light couldn't fill up the entire expanse. Luckily, Kurome already found what she was looking for. At the far end of the room was a set of stairs, right next to an elevator platform enclosed in guardrails, and they both lead upwards into a vertical shaft. She turns back and calls out to Seryu "There it is! We have a way up!" beside her, a very large pair of claws reached out to her from the shadows.

"Watch Out!" Seryu yelled as she dashed forward to shove Kurome out of the way. Instead, Seryu herself was grabbed by the Unseen Creature as It stomps out of the darkness and into view of Muramasa's light.

It was big.

The bestial Monster towered over at 13 ft, with a completely black exoskeletal body. It had a long ridged segmented tail with a harpoon shaped blade at its end. Strong clawed hands enveloped the auburn haired Jaeger, and pinned her mechanical arms to her sides. Without effort, It raised Seryu and held her up in front of Its face as the head came into full view. A spiked ridge ran along the back of Its elongated cranium. And at the front of Its head, a human-looking skull peered out from behind a partially broken cowl.

The Raven inched Its grotesque face closer to Seryu, and uttered a deep viscous growl. Seryu struggled to break free from the Rogue Xenomorph's cluthes, but Its strength was overwhelming. The Raven continued to squeeze the amber eyed murderess with the intent of crushing her. "Guh!...guh! _"_ Seryu began to gasp for air, as the pressure prevented her lungs from expanding. She was going to asphyxiate, if her body doesn't break first.

"Let Her Go!" Kurome hastily drew her Revolver, and opened fire on the Monster in point blank range. Every bullet hit the target, only for them to bounce harmlessly off the Raven's reinforced exoskeleton. Koro growled and grew to full size to match the Rogue Xenomorph, but he held back since Seryu remained Its captive.

Desperate and dying, Seryu opened her mouth and deployed her hidden gun. She takes aim and fired a round into the Raven's face, causing it to drop her as It flinched and covered Its partially exposed skull in defense. The auburn haired young woman retracted her mouth gun, and crawled backwards away from the Rogue Xenomorph.

The Raven regained Its composure, and started to reach for Seryu again. But, Koro intervened and grappled with the Monster, in an attempt to hold It back. The Raven roared in protest, and it backhanded the biological Imperial Arm. Koro staggered back from the hit and looked down in time to see his midsection impaled by the Rogue Xenomorph's harpoon tail blade.

With a tug, the Raven reeled Its tail back, and yanked Koro off his feet and sent him hurling forward. The biological Imperial Arm crashed against the stairwell assembly, and demolished it. "No!" Kurome cried out in shock and frustration, after seeing their one route to the surface obliterated.

The teenage assassin turned towards the grotesque Serpent Beast, and fired her Revolver at It with renewed fury. Beside her, Seryu was blasting away at It with her Tonfa Guns. The conventional weapons weren't doing any damage to the large Monster. They only enraged It further.

With another roar, the Raven made ready to charge the two young women. It was abruptly stopped, when Koro grabbed It by the tail and began tugging It back towards him.

Kurome paused to reload her Revolver, and clutched her head in pain. "I'm at my limit with Muramasa." she realized "I have to put it away, to recuperate." She gazes down at the katana Imperial Arm in her hand and groaned "But, if I sheathed it. Not only will We lose Our source of light, but my strength will also plummet." The teen assassin looked over at her comrade, Seryu. The amber eyed murderess kept firing frantically with her face psychotically warped and ignorant to the futility.

"If I become weak and turn into a liability, we'll all die." Kurome thought bitterly, then she took a quick glance back at the ruined stairwell. The shaft is high up with no leverage to scale it. It's too high for the weakened teenage assassin to jump it. And Seryu won't have enough time to deploy her Hookshot, grapple onto a ledge, and reel them both up, without the grotesque Serpent Beast getting at them.

"We"ll have to run." Kurome muttered "We must find another way up, link with Wave and the others, and try to kill this Thing."

Off to the side, Kurome spotted a small sealed porthole that looked like a service hatch. Beside it, were stamped words ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE ACCESS. "That looks like it leads beneath the floor, and it's too small for that Thing to fit." she wasted no time in rushing over to the service hatch, worked the latch, and pulled it open. She quickly peered inside and confirmed there was a small tunnel that went beneath the floor grating.

With the strain of wielding Muramasa starting to overwhelm her, Kurome holstered her Revolver, hopped down the hatch, and desperately called out to her comrade "Seryu! Fall back! We have to get away!" Seryu leered at her, as if she uttered something offensive "What are you talking about!? Justice never runs from fighting Evil!"

The Raven flexes Its tail and reeled Koro in again. It whisked Its tail and hurled the biological Imperial Arm towards Seryu. Koro reverts to his small normal size, to prevent crushing his user.

Seryu reacted fast, and caught the shrunken Koro between her mechanical arms. The force of Koro's momentum catapulted both of them backwards, and sent Seryu skidding across the floor and landing next to the service hatch.

Before Seryu can get back up, Kurome threw her arms out of the open porthole and grabbed Seryu by the shoulders. With a great heave, the teenage assassin dragged both the auburn haired murderess and Koro down through the hatch and into the service tunnel.

"What the hell was that for!?" Seryu yelled, as she righted herself up and placed Koro beside her. Kurome gave her a look of disdain "You're Welcome" she growled.

Suddenly, a large clawed hand shot through the porthole as the Raven reached into the tunnel, and tried to snatch at the two Jaegers. Kurome and Seryu stopped arguing and crawled deeper into the tunnel for safety. Overhead, they can hear the grotesque Serpent Beast stomp along the floor above in pursuit.

Kurome felt her head again as the strain on her body steadily grew. Not wanting to wait another second, she sheathed Muramasa and laid against the bottom of the tunnel as the power waned from her body. The red glow of Muramasa's blade dissipated, and left Kurome and Seryu in complete darkness within the tunnel.

"Why did you put out the light?" asked a bewildered Seryu. Kurome hastily thought up an excuse, without having to tell her comrade about her condition. "Because, I'm trying to keep that Beast from noticing Us." the teenage assassin explained "That way, We can slip by and try to find Our teammates." The auburn haired Jaeger pondered the explanation "How can you be sure, that Monster can't see in the dark?"

Before Kurome can answer the question, a piece of grated floor paneling came away above her head and the Raven made another attempt at reaching into the tunnel to grab the two young women.

"Shit!" yelled a startled Kurome, as she blindly scrambled away and barely escaped the Raven's cluthes. Her and Seryu hurriedly continued crawling through the blackness of the tunnel, while the Rogue Xenomorph above kept pulling out more floor panels.

Both Jaegers only stopped and waited, when the Raven could no longer be heard. "Seryu?" Kurome called out to her auburn haired comrade in the darkness. Somewhere nearby, Seryu responded "I'm here." The teenage assassin felt around through the blackness and her fingers brushed against Seryu's mechanical hands. Nearby, she can hear Koro whine.

 _Groar!..._ The Raven's roar grew faint and distant.

"It's given up. We must have gotten somewhere, where It can't follow." surmised Kurome as she breathed a sigh of relief. She looks beside her, and noticed something "Seryu. I can see you!" she remarks in surprise.

Seryu held up a mechanical hand and waved "I see you too, Kurome. There's a light source, down here" The two young women searched their surroundings, and spotted light coming from one end of the tunnel they're in.

Kurome and Seryu began to crawl towards the light, with Koro trotting ahead and leading the way. They come to the end of the maintenance shaft, waited.

"We don't know what's out there." Kurome explains "Let's have Koro look ahead, and determine if the way is clear." Seryu turns to her biological Imperial Arm "You heard her, Koro! Get to it." Koro salutes with his small hands and hopped out of the shaft opening.

A few moments went by, and Koro returns and utters another whine. "Looks like, the way ahead is safe." Seryu concluded. Kurome nods and shuffles her way out of the maintenance tunnel. Her feet touched solid flooring, and she rights herself up and looks around.

The room was mostly cubic in layout with a passage swinging around a corner. The passage itself seemed to be the only way out. But, something else had Kurome's attention when she laid eyes on the source of light.

The teenage assassin turned back and called into the service tunnel "Seryu! Come see this!" Seryu hastily exits the maintenance shaft, and rushes to Kurome's side. Before the amber eyed Jaeger can ask her comrade what's wrong, she sees the what's giving off the light.

A section of the room was covered in Alien Hive Resin. And cocooned to a wall with said resin, was a man in green armor and helmet. On his shoulder was a device that gave off a brilliant light, that easily illuminated the entire room. The man wasn't moving and his eyes were closed. He would have appeared dead, if Seryu hadn't checked her Justice City Detector and confirmed the body was giving off heat of the living.

"We found someone. After all this time, We finally found one of the people who resided here." Kurome declared. Seryu cautiously stepped closer to the cocooned man and observed him. "The Serpents must have grabbed him and immobilized him for impregnation." she surmised "Just like, They did with Our comrades from the Expeditionary Force."

Seryu raised her Tonfa Guns and took aim. Kurome quickly ran up to her, and placed a hand over her weapons "What the Hell, do you think you're doing!?" The auburn haired murderess scowled and answered "He might have One inside him. He's likely gonna end up like Bols. It's better to kill him, before It comes out of his chest."

Kurome steps in front of Seryu's line of fire "He might know the full story of what has happened here. We can't get any answers from him, if he's dead. This chance for an explanation is too good to pass up. Let's take him back with us and question him, while he's still alive." She turns to the unknown person, and makes a grim expression "However long, that may be…"

Seryu remained stationary for a moment, then she holstered her Tonfa Guns "Fine. We'll take him with us." She turns to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro!" she the points to the cocooned man "Remove."

Koro grew to large size and sprouted muscular arms. He then began tearing the Hive resin off of the strange man. The unconscious person fell into Koro's arms, and the biological Imperial Arm carefully laid him down flat on the floor. Both Seryu and Kurome began looking him over.

"He's got armor on. Must be a soldier." Kurome surmised.

"Or a Colonial Marine." Suggested Seryu.

The teenage assassin turned to her comrade, perplexed "Do you really think, he's affiliated with that Corporal Hicks?" the auburn haired murderess nods "Who else, could it be? That Criminal did mention, he was searching for his missing teammates." Seryu indicates the unconscious man "And look at this one's armor. Do you know any military organization that equips strange armor, like that?" Kurome takes a quick glance back at the person. His armor look both lightweight and tough. She's never seen anything like it, throughout her career as an Imperial assassin. So she concedes "No, I haven't."

Seryu leers closely to thoroughly inspect the person. She immediately points out something "His undershirt is the same design and color, as Hicks'. That can't be a coincidence." Kurome nods in agreement, and joins in looking over the individual.

There were many insignias and drawings on his armor with one being a dagger piercing a skull and crossbones atop some letters spelling "Or Glory", and the other showed a love knot next to a word spelling "Louise".

But one particular image caught Kurome's attention, and coaxed her into leaning close to the man's chest to read a set of black stamped letters. She began to spell out the word "H-U-D-S-O-N" The word made Akame's Younger Sister realize something. "It's his name" she concluded "His name is Hudson."

 **The City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Over the headset communication network, Pais' voice rang out in urgency ("Two of our spies have a pursuer on their trail! They're heading west, right now! Western distraction team be advised, they'll be there in less then three minutes!")

Hicks quickly responds and answers ("Affirmative! We're ready and waiting.") He turns to Akame "Okay, it's Game Time. Let's go over what we discussed, earlier. I'll lie down and perch myself at the top of the nearby hill. You stay low among the tombstones and reveal yourself when the target makes an appearance. Try to draw him past that tree over there." He points to a lone tree sitting just outside of a woodland area, at the edge of the city proper. "The space beyond that tree is the Kill Box. As soon as the motherfucker comes within range, I'll riddle his sorry ass with Pulse-Rifle ammunition. After he becomes swiss cheese, you'll swoop in and deliver the final blow to ensure he's down for good."

Akame nods quietly then she dashes over to the cemetery, and ducked behind a row of cross-shaped headstones.

Hicks jogs up the hill and laid flat on his belly, behind a clump of tall grass. He props up his arms and head, and methodically stared down the sights of his Pulse-Rifle towards his intended firing range.

A moment passed by, and a pair of men in scout gear came running out of the woods. They stopped abruptly, and scanned ahead in search of Akame and Hicks.

Hicks growled in frustration "Damn Idiots! They need to come closer!"

Suddenly, a pair of extended arms shot out of the trees, and grabbed the two spies by their heads. Akame leaped out from the headstones and dashed out of the graveyard to help them. "Hurry, Akame!" urged Hicks desperately.

Too late. With a tug, the pair of arms yanked back and effortlessly tore away the spies' heads from their shoulders.

Akame stops near the lone tree and looks on in shock and anger. The killer arms retracted back to their owner, as he saunters out of the woods and towards the red eyed assassin. He was tall, had pale hair, his bare chest rippled with muscles, and his only attire were a pair of shorts.

The Rakshasa Demon playfully held up his victims' decapitated heads "For an assassin, who is unable to save her comrades, what a disgrace." He leers with his dark sinister eyes and perversely licked his lips "You're pitiful. But I'll still play with you. Sister Akame."

Akame mutters a response "Ibara. So, you're here in Kyoroch." Ibara continued speaking "For the Bad Girl, who betrayed the Empire, it's time for a spanking." He tosses the heads at Akame's feet.

The red eyed assassin looked on in horror and disgust, as the lifeless faces stare up at her. She scowls back at the Rakshasa Demon, and flew into a rage "Eliminate!" she darted straight towards Ibara with Murasame poised and ready.

Ibara crosses his arms defensively "Just try it!" all of his fingernails extended and shot forth towards his attacker. Akame dodged and weaved past his defenses, and swung forth Murasame. The Rakshasa Demon flexed his midsection, and it stretched and whisked backwards away from the Imperial Arm's blade at the last moment.

Before Akame can follow up with another sword swing, she see small protrusions begin to stir from all over Ibara's skin. The red eyed assassin jumped backwards at the last second, and narrowly avoided being skewered by Ibara's reverse iron maiden technique.

As Akame lands a safe distance away, Ibara retracts his spike shape skin and chuckled when he spoke "We, the Four Rakshasa Demons have undergone intense training, and tasted the broth of the Lake Kraken that lives in the mountains behind our temple." Ibara takes a step forward and kept talking "We can control our bodies, however we want" he takes a another step closer "And I can easily avoid that ominous blade-" _Rata-ta-ta-ta-…_ an explosive hail of Pulse-Rifle fire burst forth and showered the unsuspecting Rakshasa Demon.

Hicks fired another burst shot from his Pulse-Rifle, as he came down the nearby hill for more close range accuracy. When he finally let up, the Corporal look on in shock to see Ibara was still standing and not one bit concerned over the many bullet holes in his torso.

Ibara leered at Hicks menacingly "Like I said. We Four Rakshasa Demons can manipulate our bodies in any way we desire." He began to close the wounds of his, one by one "When I saw those spies were leading to an open area, I suspected an ambush involving ranged weaponry. So I shifted my vital organs to different parts of my body, where they're least likely to get damaged." All of Ibara's wounds have completely closed up, and he raised an arm and aimed it towards Hicks.

The Marine began to back away, as Akame called out from the side "Hicks, look out!" Ibara's arm extended quickly "And, I even do stuff like This!" his fingernails shot out to skewer their target. Hicks held his Pulse-Rifle out in front, to block the attack. The fingernails stabbed hard against the gun and other sections of the Corporal's armor. The force of the hit threw Hicks and sent him flying backwards. The Marine sailed for a distance, and slammed his back against a tombstone. He collapsed after the crash, and laid still.

"Hicks!" Akame called out with worry. Suddenly she found herself dodging frantically, as Ibara threw a barrage of similar arm attacks right at her. The Rakshasa Demon cackled, as he kept up his assault on the red eyed assassin "How is that, Sister Akame!?"

Akame continued blocking and dodging, as she tried hard to ignore the small damages she's sustaining. Her skirt was torn as her right hip is exposed and cut. The same happen to her top, as she received another cut below her right breast. "Wait for it…" she thought, as she looked for the right time to counter.

Finally, Akame swung out Murasame and looked in surprise as it found itself between Ibara's outstretched hands. "And now, you're Imperial Arm is confiscated!" Ibara announced, as he pulled Murasame out of Akame's hand.

The Rakshasa Demon held Murasame above his head triumphantly. Suddenly, the Imperial Arm began to give off a dark aura. Ibara looked up in shock "What's with this blade!?-" _Bam! Bam! Bam!_ Akame had drawn her sidearm and fired. The bullets struck Ibara by his hand, and he drops Murasame.

Akame leaps onto Ibara's shoulders while he was distracted. With the Rakshasa Demon's head wedged between her thighs, the red eyed assassin performed a corkscrew spin and twist the head a full 180 degrees. Akame then hopped off Ibara, holstered her Pistol, and bent to pick up her Imperial Arm.

Ibara began to twist and straighten hid head "No way. You intended for this to happen!? So, you let go of you're Imperial Arm on purpose!?" Akame stand up and brandish Murasame "You called this blade Ominous. So I'd figure, you two would be incompatible…" The Rakshasa Demon bared his teeth, and charged angrily "How Dare You! You little-" _Plunk!_ Someone fired a weapon, and a large bullet hole appeared in Ibara's gut.

Ibara stopped and glared down at his new wound, then he looked up to see a standing Hicks holding his rifle with its lower barrel smoking. "I already told you, that's not gonna work-" _Kaboom!_ He was blown to pieces, as the grenade in his stomach, detonated. Blood, guts, and body parts of the Rakshasa Demon splattered everywhere in the immediate area.

"I heard you, the first time. Dick Head." growled Hicks, as he slumped to his knees. Akame rushed over to him, and held him steady "Hicks! Are you alright?" the Corporal indicated his armor and smiled "His attack had some bite to it. But it lacked punch to do anything more than tossing me around." The red eyed assassin smiled back in relief to see her teammate unharmed.

Off to the side, a coughing sound can be heard, and both Hicks and Akame turned and looked in disgust. Ibara's upper torso lay a short distance away, and he was still alive. But barely, his conscious was slipping fast. "Guh…Wha…What the Hell, are you people?"

Hicks stared for a moment, and then responded "We're the Ones, who are going to save This World from an Evil, that is far worse than the likes of you or the Empire." Ibara pondered that remark, then he let out a faint chuckle "Hehehe…Good Luck…" he closed his dark eyes, and then passed away.

Hicks turned away in disgust, and spoke into his headset mic ("This is Hicks. Akame and I have neutralized one of the Rakshasa Demons.") Najenda reply in congratulations over the communication network ("Well done, you two! Now, lay low and stand by for further instructions.") The Marine nods and gives Akame a thumbs-up "Copy that. Standing by. Over and out."

Akame led Hicks to a nearby crypt, and they both hunkered down to stay out of sight and await further orders. Suddenly, Hicks' headset buzzed loudly, as Lubbock's voice rang out over the radio network ("This is Lubbock! I'm being chased by the Enemy! They're right on my tail!")

Deep in the city of Kyoroch, Lubbock zip-lined through an empty street with Mez and Sten in close pursuit. Najenda's voice spoke in his headset ("Lubbock? What's going on?") the green haired assassin glanced behind him and replied into his mic ("They suddenly attacked me! Somehow, they knew who I am.")

Mez wound back her arm "And, Go!" her arm extended, and she launched a fist into Lubbock's back at an explosive force. "Guagh!" Lubbock coughed and fell forward onto the ground, then he stopped moving.

The two Rakshasa Demons caught up to where Lubbock collapsed, and one of them checked his body for signs of life. "Hmm…" Mez pulled back her hand, and shrugged "This guy's heart already stopped. How weak!" Sten stood behind her and crossed his arms to hide his disappointment. Neither of them could hear the frantic voices blaring in the speakers of Lubbock's headset.

("Lubbock! What happened!? Do you hear me!?") Najenda yelled into her mic.

("Mr. Lubbock. What's your situation? Please respond.") Bishop asked calmly.

("Come on, Lubbock. Quit screwing around, and talk to Us.") urged Ripley.

("Hey, Pervert! You better answer quickly, or else!") Mine threatened.

("Everyone, clear the line and maintain radio silence!") commanded Hicks ("We can't risk them learning Our ability to communicate from a distance. Pais, can you confirm Lubbock's situation?") Over the radio, the teenage spy answered ("I'll try. Please, stand by.")

"Will you guys hush up…" Lubbock thought, as he laid still in front of the two Rakshasa Demons "You're gonna blow my cover…" Behind him, Mez cocked her head up and nods at Sten. With a smile, she dashed off around a corner towards a different street, and left her large companion alone to stand patiently next to an acting Lubbock.

 **Below Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Esdeath, Run, and Wave stood at the edge of a steep shaft, as they stared at the mangled staircase within. Run held his torch over the edge and dropped it. A short moment passed, and all three Jaegers heard a loud clatter, when the torch hit the bottom.

"It's not a far drop. We can reach the bottom, if done properly." Run assured. Without hesitation, Wave was the first to go, as he vaulted down the shaft and landed his armored feet at the bottom in a loud thud. The black armor clad sailor held up his own torch and hastily scanned the area. Nothing moved or came to attack him. He calls out, back up the shaft "It's Okay! You can come down!"

Esdeath went next, as she conjured blocks of ice to act as platforms, to aid her descent. She carefully hopped down each ice block, until landing safely at the bottom. Run came last, as he simply manifested Mastema's wings and glided down towards the others.

The three Jaegers observed their surroundings in detail. Something happened here recently, Esdeath can tell. She crouches near a couple of spent bullet casings, and picked one up. "It's still warm…" explained the General, as she sniffed the casing "It's recently been fired." Wave walked up to her, and recognized the casing "That's the bullet, I gave to Kurome, so she can reload her Revolver." Run joins in on the conversation "Her and Seryu must have been shooting at something, here." He points to the wrecked staircase, and the ripped-out floor panels nearby "Something Big. And very strong."

Wave glances around frantically "So, where did they go!?" Run held his chin in thought. Then he finally admitted "I don't know Wave…" The black armored sailor wasn't having it "Don't give me that! Can't you think of something!?"

"Hey, you two!" Esdeath called out, and her Subordinates turned to see her near a set of opened doors. The blue haired woman held up her torch and indicated a sign next to the doorway.

WATER PROCESSING FACILITY -^

\- AUXILIARY POWER STATION

ELEVATOR/STAIRWELL -v

Run studied the directions closely, then he turned to his Commander "Ma'am. If I may make a suggestion?" Esdeath nods and allows him to proceed. "Our torches won't burn for much longer. I'd recommend that we detour over to the AUXILIARY POWER STATION, and see if we can get this Colony's power back on."

Wave objected immediately "Are you Crazy!? Kurome and Seryu could be in trouble, and you want to go play with this place's machinery!?" Run was undeterred "Pretty soon, We won't have any light by which to continue Our search. Better to restore power to light sources within this place, than go stumbling around blindly." then he crossed his arms smartly "Unless either of you have a way to see in the dark, that I don't know about?"

Esdeath pondered hard about their options. But she already knew, Run's idea was the only viable choice. She turns to both her Subordinates, and decided "Let's go switch the power back on."

 **The City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Lubbock pretended to be a corpse, as the remaining Rakshasa Demon stood nearby. Sten looks off into the distance and grumbled "Mez sure is late."

"No, not late. You damn geezer. You should leave, too!" Lubbock thought frustratingly, as he continued to lie still to avoid detection "How long, must I continue to play dead!?" The green haired defense operative played a clever strategy, when he used his concealed armor of thread to absorb the blow from Mez's last attack. Then he cleverly placed Cross Tails' string inside his own body, to bind his blood vessels and conceal his pulse. The ploy worked for the most part. Now all he needed were for his Enemies to wander off, so he can sneak away.

So far, Sten remained where he was and soon, both he and Lubbock can hear Mez's voice call out "Here you go, Sten! She's coming your way! I'll give you the prey, this time!" From down the street, came a young woman who was being chased by Mez. Lubbock can to realize who the girl was, by both the sound of her heavy breathing and the chatter going on over the radio headset.

("Pais. What's wrong? You're out of position.") Bishop inquired as he looked over Pais' Locator signal origin. Pais kept quiet and didn't respond, not wanting to alert the Rakshasa Demons of her Comrades. She stops abruptly, as she came upon Lubbock's body and Sten, who was blocking her path.

The teenage spy looked both in front and behind her in panic, as the two Rakshasa Demons closed in and trapped her. "Dammit…" Lubbock thought "How can she get so careless? Sorry, but I can't help you, Pais. The mission is more important. You should know that as well…"

Sten towered over Pais, with a sinister grin "You must be another lost child, wandering this empty world." He suddenly seized her by the throat, and began to choke her "I shall free that soul of yours. Be thankful!" Pais started to gasp and wheeze, as she tried to call for help "Guh…Please…help…guh" Over the radio headset, Ripley's voice can be heard ("She's in trouble! Somebody do something!")

("Where is she located?") Hicks asked.

("Near the center of the City.") answered Bishop.

("She's too far out.") Najenda explains ("No one can get to her in time.")

Suddenly, a dagger came hurling towards Sten. The Rakshasa Demon saw the incoming blade, and reacted, by catching it between two of his fingers. He observed his surroundings to find the culprit, and noticed Lubbock was standing up a short distance away. "I guess it's up to me, after all. I just can't stand idly by, and let a girl get hurt."

"You…" Sten remarked, as he drops Pais to the ground, and turned to face his immediate threat. Beside him, Mez grinned in amazement "So, you were alive. Sure fooled me. You're so stupid. Should've kept playing dead." Lubbock was unfazed "Well, you see. I usually steer clear of the major battles. But if I have to fight, needless to say, I do intend to give it my all." He winds Cross Tails' threads around his gloves "Come at me, both of you."

As quickly as he could, Lubbock threw forth Cross Tails' threads like casting a net. Mez and Sten dodge sideways, with Mez muttering "Come at you, My ass! You're the one who's sent those damn threads all over the place!" the green haired defense operative began reeling the threads back "Tch! I guess, that was too obvious."

Sten rushed and closed in "Allow me to release your soul!" Lubbock turned to face him, and stood ready. The bearded Rakshasa Demon launched a barrage of punches "Kouken Temple, Hundred Blazing Fist!" the green haired assassin hastily weaved a thread barrier and blocked "Hey, Old Geezer! I didn't ask for you!"

The barrier held against Sten's attack, and he makes an impressive look "Ho…" Mez steps forward and spoke "You're quite skilled. And those threads must be an Imperial Arm…" she cracks her knuckles "This time, I'll split your skull in half. And be sure to kill you." Lubbock forms a grin "Flirting like that, doesn't turn me on at all."

The lone member of Night Raid, and the two Rakshasa Demon have a standoff between them. Lubbock makes the first move, and began to rapidly spin and weave his Cross Tails' threads together. Mez and Sten stood ready and waited to see wait their foe was up to. "Bundle, my threads!" yelled Lubbock, as the threads came together to form a spinning halberd "And, Rise Centrifugal Force!"

Mez smirked "Doesn't that move have too many openings?" she points her index finger and shoots an extended fingernail at Lubbock. The green haired member of Night Raid held forth his arm and amswered "Not really." He deflected the attack with his concealed wire armor, and somersaulted towards Sten "Take this, Super Secret Technique. Wire Impact!"

Sten flexes his muscles, held out his hands and caught the weapon by the blade "Hngh! Too soft…" Lubbock looked down in surprise "What!..." The Rakshasa Demon scowled in disappointment "This is your Trump Card? Don't make me laugh." Lubbock jumped and slid backwards to a safe distance "Is that so? I've already accomplished my goal" he points past them "Take a look behind you!"

The two Rakshasa Demon glanced behind them, and saw that the teenage spy was no longer around. Pais has escaped. "Oh, the woman got away" Mez realized. Lubbock quickly turned around, and began to run away "And now, it's my turn!" Sten placed a finger on his brow to keep his temper in check "So, he was being flashy on purpose," he surmised "to keep our attention focused on him, while the woman made her getaway."

Sten crouched low, and made ready to dash after his target "There's no choice…" he burst forth and ran at full speed "Even if it's just you, I will release your soul!" Lubbock looked behind and smirked "Is it alright, for you to charge at me like that? Cross Tails' threads are made from a Super-Class Danger Beast that lives in the clouds of the Eastern Continent. The threads that are made from the hairs protecting its vital spots, are especially sharp. Hence earning it name Realm-Cutter. It's my strongest thread"

Before Sten realized it, he found himself running straight towards a thread barrier. He tried to stop, but his momentum carried him forward and he wound up headfirst into the barrier. The thread snared him and began to cut into his neck. In front of him, Lubbock readied another thread woven polearm and hurled it straight into the Rakshasa Demon's chest. "You're finished." declared the green haired assassin.

Sten clutched at the weapon embedded in his chest, and began to pull it out "This trained body, won't be taken down by a wound like this…" Lubbock grins and retorted "It doesn't matter how tough, your body is. From the moment you were stabbed by Cross Tails, the threads have been heading straight for your heart." He makes a hand gesture and tugged his line of threads. The wires around Sten's heart began to tense and tighten, then quickly diced up the heart with their sharp edges. Sten began to cough up blood, and fell back dead.

Lubbock wound all his threads back to him, while commenting "That part of your body wasn't that tough." Behind him, Mez was rubbing the back of her head "Wow, you actually defeated Sten. Impressive! The Prime Minister is gonna be mad at us." The green haired assassin redeployed his threads and cast another barrier around himself "You don't have to worry about that. Now that you've seen my Imperial Arm, I can't let you live." The remaining Rakshasa Demon smiled merrily "Well, that's alright. We are assassins, after all…"

Mes reached into her hair, and unlatched the horseshoe-shaped weights from her braids. After the weights clattered to the floor, she suddenly whisked her upper body forward and splashed a thick fluid all over Cross Tails' barrier. Lubbock looked around in shock, as the liquid drenched over his barrier threads, weighed them down to make them slacken, and rendered them useless.

"This liquid is like oil" Mez explained "But, it's actually my sweat. And without your barrier, you're defenseless." She began darting all around Lubbock at high speed. The green haired defense operative can't even keep up.

Suddenly, Mez came straight at him and delivered a solid punch, right into his stomach. Lubbock was knocked back and sent hurdling to the ground. He clutched his stomach and gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. He then looks forward and sees the female Rakshasa Demon approach, while he's vulnerable.

In a desperate move, Lubbock reached into his sleeve and produced two throwing knives. "Take this!" he hurls the knives towards Mez, but she merely swats them away with her hand "Don't be so desperate. It's unsightly." She picks up and holds Lubbock by the collar of his shirt.

Lubbock stared down at his would be killer "Shit…You're so cute…If you weren't the Enemy, I would have definitely tried to seduce you." Mez smiled and blushed "I don't hate guys like you, so I might have been okay with that." She flexes her hand and readied a killing blow "Let's save it for the next life. Bye-bye!-" _Bzzzt!_ Mez felt an intense flash of burning pain along her back and spreading throughout her body "What!?..." she cried out, as the electric shock began to render her unconscious.

Mez began to weaken and dropped Lubbock, as she collapsed to the floor. Lubbock checked her vitals, and determined she was out cold. He looked up to see what could have happened to her, and spotted Susanoo down the alleyway brandishing a Shotgun with a smoking barrel. "Ms. Pais informed Us at the Dropship, that you were facing two of the Rakshasa Demons, all by yourself. Lady Najenda then ordered me to go into the city, to assist you."

Lubbock looked back down at an unconscious Mez and muttered "I had it under control. Boss didn't need to send you here, for my sake." He felt ashamed, his Commander, whom he admired, had to send help.

The green haired defense operative waved a small cloud of smoke away from his face, as he tried to ignore the scent of singed flesh. "What the Hell did you do to her, Su?" he asked. The humanoid Imperial Arm ejected a blue shell from his Shotgun, and presented it to Lubbock "Bishop calls these non-lethal stun rounds. They deliver a high-voltage shock to a target, and incapacitates them for a certain amount of time." He pulls out a red colored shell and loaded it "I didn't want to risk hitting you with a scatter round, so I swapped ammunitions."

Lubbock crouched and studied Mez's body closely "How long, does it last?" Susanoo frowns thoughtfully "It varies, according to Bishop. She could be up and moving, in a matter of minutes at the very least." He walks up to her unmoving body and aimed the Shotgun at her head "Might as well finish her off, while we still have the chance."

Lubbock instantly placed himself in Susanoo's way "Wait! We don't need to go that far." He looks down at the vulnerable Rakshasa Demon "Our mission is to assassinate Borick, not the Rakshasa Demons. We should avoid anymore killing, if we can help it." The humanoid Imperial Arm lowered his Shotgun, to indicate he was still listening. Lubbock continued to explain "Su. You and I both know the Aliens are still out there. And, when They eventually come for Us, We'll need every able-bodied fighter to stand against Them."

Susanoo was still uncertain, so Lubbock tried to reason with him "You're more than just a weapon, Su. I know you value life, just like the rest of Us. And, if Najenda was here right now, she'd say the same thing."

Susanoo pondered for another minute, and finally relented. He points down at Mez and asked "Then, what do you propose, We do about her?" Lubbock eyed Mez's comatose body, and made a perverted grin "I have an idea…"

Under Lubbock's instructions, he and Susanoo dragged Mez into an abandoned building within the alleyway, that the former had picked out using his Motion Tracker and broke into using the Welding Torch. Lubbock then took Cross Tails' threads, and began tying her up. When he had finished, Mez'z body was held suspended above the floor and hanging from a support beam. Coils of thread wound around her shins and thighs, which bound her legs up to where her ankles touched her buttocks. Diamond shaped coils wrapped around her pubic region, knots tied her hands behind her back, and a harness caressed her breasts.

Susanoo stood by and eyed Lubbock's handiwork. The green haired assassin's method of tying up Mez, has got the humanoid Imperial Arm perplexed "What sort of purpose, does tying her up like that accomplish?" Lubbock fidgeted as he tried to explain himself "Well, this one is a slippery character. So I wanted to employ a special method to keep her tied up, for as long as possible."

Susanoo started to make sense of it "Are you sure, this'll work? What do you call this, anyway?" Lubbock picked up a rag and gagged Mez's mouth "It's called a Rope Dress." he answered "I learned it off a magazine, I bought a while back." He held his chin in thought "I wish I could remember, where I left it. It had some of my favorite articles. Anyway, I used the Hand Welder to calcify and harden the threads to become hard as steel. She's not getting out of this anytime, soon."

Lubbock stepped out the door of the abandoned building, with Susanoo following behind. He took out the Welding Torch, and melted the doorknob and the hinges, in order to seal the door "That should hold her, until Our mission is complete." He turned towards Susanoo, and pointed down the alleyway "Now, get back to the Dropship. I can handle things from here." The humanoid Imperial Arm nodded and dashed towards the edge of the city. Lubbock pressed his headset mic to his lips ("This is Lubbock. The threat is no longer an issue. The path is clear, I'm bringing in Leone and Chelsea.")

("Roger.") Bishop replies.

("How's Pais?") Hicks asked.

("Is Su already on his way back?") Najenda asked.

Lubbock approached the safe house, and answered the line of inquiry ("Pais is fine. She managed to get away. And Su just left me right now.") He steps into the safe house and beckons for his Comrades to follow him ("I'm with Chelsea and Leone, right now. We're making Our way to the cathedral.") Najenda spoke again over the radio ("Well, hurry and get them safely inside the church. It's gonna be dark, soon. And I want Chelsea and Leone to be in place and ready, before Borick arrives.")

Leone and Chelsea quietly nod in readiness, and Lubbock spoke once more into his headset ("Got It. We're on our way.")

The three assassins step out into the street, and Lubbock led the way using the Motion Tracker to avoid any crowds, and prevent raising suspicions from witnesses. They navigated the streets, while occasionally ducking into alleyways to throw off anyone who might be tailing them. Eventually, they came upon a large set of doors at the front of the church. "We'll go around the back. See if we can find a discreet way in." Lubbock directed Chelsea and Leone around the side of the building.

Not long after walking, they found a smaller side door with a bolted lock. Lubbock checked his Motion Tracker, and found no one was on the other side. Using the Welding Torch, he cut through the lock and opened the door. "Alright, you two" he turns to Leone and Chelsea "It's your show. Now get inside, and nail that Bastard. I'll seal the door behind you, to cover your tracks." The two women nod, and crept into the church. The green haired operative then sealed the passage and snuck off into the streets.

Lubbock checked around to make sure they weren't seen, then he spoke into his headset again ("Ok, it's done. The elimination team are inside the church.")

("Good Work, Lubbock. Now fall back to the safe house and stand by.") commanded Najenda ("Does anyone got eyes on the final Rakshasa Demon?")

("Negative") answered Hicks.

("The Spy Team are wandering the city, to lure her out.") explained Pais.

("Well she's certainly not here.") Mine said, as she recline on her seat and began to lose patience for the lack of action on her part. To pass the time, she began to tidy herself up by brushing away dirt and dust off her pink dress and her face.

After her initial cleanup, Mine suddenly leaned forward towards Tatsumi who was sitting across from her, and tried glaring into his eyes to see her reflection. "I feel like, there's something on my face." commented the pink haired sniper. She continued facing a startled Tatsumi and asked "Did all of the dirt come off?" the green eyed fighter put up his hands, and waved frantically "It's off! It's off!"

Mine realized Tatsumi was blushing. "What are you blushing for?" she asked "Are you actually still hung up on that Red String thing?" Tatsumi reacted defensively "No Way! Aren't you the one, who is taking that seriously!?" Mine argued back in disbelief "Huh!? Stop joking! It's not even funny!" she crossed her b arms haughtily "Besides, if we were bound by the Red String. You should've come to my defense, when Ripley, Hicks, and Bishop were calling me immature." Tatsumi pointed his finger accusingly "You expect me to help you out, after all this time you'd rip on me about the way I look!?"

The young couple kept arguing. Unaware of the lone figure standing atop a cliff overlooking the canyon. "Well, what do we have here? I come all the way out here to spy on that meddlesome Lord, and instead I chance upon two suspicious people." Suzuka shield her eyes from the glare of the late afternoon sun, and looked closely "The girl appears to be one of the identified members of Night Raid, and the boy seem to be her comrade." The Rakshasa Demon held herself in excitement "Looks like, I hit the jackpot. Maybe, I'll toy with them first, before alerting the others." She grinned in ecstatic anticipation "I've never been one to share in my pleasures, anyway."

Chapter 6 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, Night Raid's mission comes to a conclusion. The Jaegers discover the proof of entire Worlds far beyond their own, and the nightmarish origins of a Species that seek to consume all Life in existence.

REST IN PEACE, BILL PAXTON. You're legacy lives on.


	8. Chapter 7

To All Readers: Thank you so much for your patience and your reviews so far. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated. Please enjoy this chapter, and review to speak your thoughts and opinions.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 7: Ruin

 **Below Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Kurome and Seryu continued searching Hudson's belongings, to determine if he carried anything useful. Apart from a canteen and a trifold pouch full of odd tools, he had nothing. Kurome had figured out, the ComTech's Shoulder Lamp can unhook from his armor. The teenage assassin held the grip of the Shoulder Lamp and panned the light around "Wow, amazing…" she commented "It seems to be an abundant light source, and it's brighter than a torch."

Seryu looks up and spoke "Okay, so we're taking Hudson with us? How do you propose, we do that? Carry him?" Kurome turned towards and shine the light at Koro "Can't we have Koro carry him?" Seryu argued against it "Koro's my partner for Justice, not a baggage carrier! You can't just have him move and transport objects, whenever you wish. He's meant for fighting Evil, not for handling cargo."

Kurome frowned and counter argued "You and I, both need Our hands free to defend Ourselves, in case that Thing comes back. You got any better ideas?" Seryu leered an unconscious Hudson, then over at Koro. A clever smirk spread across the auburn haired murderess' face "Koro!" she points at Hudson "Load Up!" the biological Imperial Arm enlarged his arms and his mouth, then he gently lifts the comatose Marine and slid him down his gaping maw. After slowly closing his jaws, Koro then carefully swallowed.

Kurome pulled at her black hair in shock "What the Hell, did you do!? I didn't say for you to let Koro eat him!" Seryu held up a hand to calm her down "Relax! I had Koro add Hudson to my inventory, where I keep the Judgment of the Ten Kings." She demonstrated "Koro! Hudson!" Koro regurgitated and parted his lips to reveal Hudson's face. He then sucked him back in and swallowed once more.

"We can carry him back to the surface like this, without burdening Ourselves." explained Seryu. She glanced at her Justice City Detector and saw a signal blip at the edge of her radar-scope. "I've got something." The amber eyed murderess announced "Movement, out some distance away." The signal blip disappears, and Seryu sighs in annoyance. Only those Creatures can elude the Justice City Detector to this degree, as long as They remain still.

"If It's the Beast, then It's too far away to be our concern."Kurome reassured. She held up the Shoulder Lamp and walked towards the passageway leading out of the room "Let's keep moving. We've gotta find our way back to the upper Levels." She drew Doya's Revolver and waited expectantly.

Seryu took another look at her Justice City Detector to try to see if the signal blip had returned, and saw nothing. She drew her Tonfa Guns and began to follow her comrade. Koro trotted behind to keep up.

The two young women walked out of the small room, and onto a stair landing that overlooked a broadly spaced area. The small stairwell led down into two and a half feet of dark brackish water, which gave off a sour smell. "This must be the Colony sewers." Kurome surmised, as she wrinkled her nose at the odor.

Seryu observed the stagnant waterway, with a solemn expression. She's not too prissy to go mucking around in sound sludge-filled passageway, if it meant getting out of here. But, anything could be lurking within those briny waters, be it chemical or creature. Fortunately, she already has a solution in traversing the area without touching the stale liquid.

Seryu turned to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro!", she then indicates herself and Kurome "Carry Us." Koro grew to large size and reach out with his enlarged hands. The teenage assassin and the amber eyed murderess stepped into Koro's outstretched palms, and were lifted up to his shoulders. Kurome and Seryu sat alongside Koro's head. Both young women held on tight to Koro's collar, to keep from falling off.

When Seryu and Kurome sat securely on each of Koro's shoulders, the biological Imperial Arm lurched forward and stepped down the stairs into the dark water. The shallow waters ebbed and flowed around Koro, as he made his way through the sewer, with Kurome using the Shoulder Lamp to light their way.

They haven't moved for more than several meters, and obstacles have already appeared in the form of barred passages and sealed doors. "Ignore the bars. They're probably meant to block objects from flowing in and starting a clog. The doors should be for human traffic, anyway." explained Kurome. Seryu directs Koro towards the doors.

Like the set of doors that led towards the room with the stairs and elevator, these doors were shut and had an unresponsive control switch. So like before, Koro pried open the doorway and trudged on through. Something got Kurome's attention, and she shined the light at various parts of the sewer passageway. "What are those?" Kurome asks, and Seryu glanced around in confusion.

Scattered throughout the large tunnel they're in, are large numbers of Alien-shaped husks. "What happened to these Serpents? Why are they like that?" Seryu asked. Kurome singled out a husk and concentrated the light on it, for observation. The Creature's exterior was a mash-up of blistering tissue, and scalded bone. And on some parts of the exoskeleton, were bloated pustules of yellow fluid. "It looks like damage from some sort of heat source." Kurome deduced "They must have came into contact with something extremely hot. They don't seem burned, but rather…melted."

Seryu nods in agreement "More like, boiled." She turns to her comrade, and explains "General Esdeath would tell me of the outcome, when a person is boiled alive under extreme temperatures." she points at the Alien husks "These things look similar to the results, she described." Kurome wanted to ask how Esdeath came to know about such trauma, but digressed. They must keep moving.

Koro pressed forward down the sewer tunnel and past the piles of husks. They reached a large L-shaped junction ahead and paused to search for any possible way to reach the higher levels. All that occupied this area were a large ventilation fan hanging high above, a pile of waste that rose slightly above the sludge water, with a lone husk sitting above said pile. And this One had started to move.

The Boiler Alien stirred from its resting point and began to hobble feebly around the sewer passage. Koro stood still, silently awaiting orders from Seryu, who was also staring at the Decrepit Xenomorph in morbid disgust. Seryu readily held up her Tonfa Guns, and glared over at Kurome who was shaking her head furiously. "(There May Be More...)" the teenage assassin mouthed quietly, hoping that the auburn haired murderess can read her lips. Seryu understood, and mouthed back "(What Do We Do?)" Kurome held up and hand, and gestured that they watch and wait.

Both Jaegers and biological Imperial Arm stood perfectly still, and keenly watched the Boiler Alien as it continues to wander the passageway. Twice, It came towards them, and faced them directly. But It made no move to attack. It was either ignoring them, or It couldn't sense them there. Seryu glanced questioningly at Kurome. Akame's Younger Sister made a gesture of covering her eyes, indicating that the Creature couldn't "see". Even when the Shoulder Lamp's light was shining at It, the Decrepit Xenomorph failed to notice them.

"(Blind...)" Kurome mouthed, and Seryu nods in understanding. Before, they can determine what other senses the Boiler Alien lacked, a small object came floating down from the other end of the L-shaped junction. The object slowly bobbed in place, as it came into contact with the Decrepit Xenomorph's right leg.

 _Hiss!_ The Boiler Alien gave an angry hiss, as It violently swiped at the object with Its deformed claws. The object was sent sailing through the air, and straight towards Kurome, Seryu, and Koro. Kurome reacted fast and caught the object, to prevent it from making any noise for the Creature to hear. She looks at it, and realizes that it's a doll's head. The doll had only one blue eye with the other being long since removed by time and harsh conditions, and a few strands of scraggly blond hair still hung from the top.

Kurome wanted to grunt in disgust, but kept it in. She can't risk making any noise, that may draw the Creature's attention. Then Kurome got an idea. She turns to Seryu and pointed at the doll head, she then points to a far corner of the junction area. Seryu nods in confirmation, and signals for Koro to be ready to move along slowly. Kurome takes careful aim, and threw the doll head towards the corner.

The toy piece flew at a certain distance, and bounce off a sewer wall in a clear sounding _Tap!_ The Boiler Alien made another angry hiss, and quickly hobbled over to where the doll head landed, to investigate the sound. While It was distracted, Seryu directed Koro into proceeding towards the other end of the junction. The biological Imperial Arm carefully tread through the water, making sure not to make a splash or a slosh.

Koro made it to the other end of the L-junction without alerting the Creature. The biological Imperial Arm started down the sewer passageway, while Seryu and Kurome kept sidelong glances at the Decrepit Xenomorph, to make sure It wasn't following them. Kurome wanted to maintain view of the Boiler Alien, so she tried shifting her position for a better look. She was so intent on maintaining her gaze, that she failed to notice her shoulder brush against a bunch of loosely hanging broken pipes. The pipes came away from the sewer wall, and banged against each other as they clattered down. _Clank! Clang! Splash!_

 _Skreee!_ The Boiler Alien screeched out loud, and charged straight towards the source of the noise.

"Dammit!" Kurome growled, as she aimed Doya's pistol and shot at the Creature. The bullet pierced into one of Its glowing pustules, and the Boiler Alien exploded violently. Showers of acid-blood drenched a large radius around where the Decrepit Xenomorph once stood. Any closer, and the acid-blood would have sprayed all over Koro, as well as Seryu and Kurome.

"They explode, now!?" Seryu gasped in shock. Suddenly, dozens of more screeches echoed down the sewer tunnel, from all directions.

"That sounds like a bunch of Them." Kurome said anxiously "We need to keep them from getting close!" Seryu steadily aimed her Tonfa Guns towards the front "Koro!" she addresses her biological Imperial Arm "Keep pushing forward! Kurome and I will cover you." Koro growls and nods to show he understood, then he trudged onward at a fast pace.

Boiler Aliens came at them from down the sewer tunnel. "Justice Will Prevail!" Seryu fired into the pack and blew apart an opening for Koro to pass through. The biological Imperial Arm wove his way past the carnage, taking care not to come in contact with any of the spilled acid-blood. _Sszzzt!_ A few stray puddles here and there, would barely touch his leg and singe him. Kurome aimed Doya's Revolver at the rear, and picked off any stragglers.

Seryu and Kurome continue to fend off the Boiler Aliens with their combined firepower, while Koro carried them safely through the winding sewer network and occasionally having to pry open more sealed doorways. Whenever the biological Imperial Arm had to stop and pry open a doorway, the two young women would quickly unload on Anything that moved toward them.

They finally came up a set of stairs that led upward. By then, Seryu and Kurome were dangerously low on ammo. Thankfully, no more of the Decrepit Xenomorphs were pursuing them. "I think, we got Them all." Kurome stated, as Koro began to pry open the last set of doors at the top of the stairs. "Let's hope so. I only have a few more rounds left." replied Seryu. Kurome loaded her gun once more, silently thanking Wave for providing an ample amount of bullets. She can reload Doya's Revolver about two or three more times, then she's empty. But there could be more Serpent Creatures down here, and that Beast is still wandering around.

Koro opens the doorway, and the two young women climbed down off of him to walk. They stepped through the doorway and down a level passage, to end up in a very large room with an equally large blocky machine at the center.

"Where are we, now?" Seryu wondered out loud. Kurome shined the Shoulder Lamp at various parts of the room. The area, and the machine within, were easily two stories high. Catwalks and ladders lined the second floor and led towards the machine's higher areas. Cables, conduits, and pipes wound around the walls and ceiling, with most connected directly to and from the machine. Lastly, were the many signs stamped along the walls and solid structure. Most were made up of letters spelling "DANGER, HIGH VOLTAGE, KEEP OUT," or "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". But, one sign caught Kurome's attention "EMERGENCY POWER GENERATOR". Below it, was another sign "CAUTION, MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS BEYOND THIS POINT ONLY."

"I know where we are." Kurome indicated the signs "We're at the Auxiliary Power Station. Just like the one described in that directory, near the stairs where we encountered the Beast." Seryu nodded in confirmation "Then, Our way back to the other Jaegers, isn't too far from here. We can tell them about this place, and maybe have Run figure out on how to get the lights and doors working again."

Kurome was about to agree, then she notice something moving in the shadows behind the large generator.

The Raven lumbered into full view of the light, and bellowed a threatening roar. Behind It, another passage led into the only corridor out of here. "It looks like, It doesn't plan on letting Us leave." Kurome surmised. Seryu's face grew murderously warped "Enough of this! Evil must be Destroyed!" she turns to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro! Berserk Mode!" Koro's body grew bigger, muscular, and his fur turned red. His face became more menacingly frenzied with overwhelming rage and bloodlust. He split his mouth wide open, and emitted a powerful roar blast G _raaaooohhh!_.

 _Groar!_ The Raven roared back in response, and charged straight towards Koro. The Berserker Imperial Arm swung a large fist at the Rogue Xenomorph, and sent It staggering back. The Raven growled in anger and swung Its claws in retaliation. Koro blocks the attack with his massive arms, and followed up with another swing of his fist. This time, the Raven catches the punch with an outstretched claw, and with Its other, grabbed Koro's other arm.

 _Wham!_ The Raven head-butts Koro, and sent him back in surprise. The Berserker Imperial Arm stumbled back and very nearly trampled over Seryu and Kurome. Before then can get crushed, Seryu swapped a mechanical arm for the Hookshot, seized Kurome by the waist, then grappled and zip-lined up to the catwalks overhead. Once they were safely out of danger, both young women peered over the railing to watch the monstrous brawl unfold.

Koro got his bearings and looked down at his midsection, to see he was once again hooked by the Raven's harpoon-like tail blade. The Raven tugged hard in order to yank Koro off his feet, but the Berserker Imperial Arm was too heavy to lift. Instead, Koro grabs and pulled on the Raven's tail, and swung the Rogue Xenomorph into a nearby wall _Slam!_

 _Crumble!_ The Raven came away from the damaged wall, trailing busted pipes and torn out cables. Before the Rogue Xenomorph can recover, Koro wrapped his arm around Its head and tried to twist Its head off to break Its neck. Seryu's face became hideously twisted again, as she commanded her Berserker Imperial Arm "Rip Its Head Off!"

The Raven struggled and squirmed under Koro's headlock. With the spiked ridge along the top of Rogue Xenomorph's elongated head, It raked and sawed away at Koro's flesh. Koro growled in frustration as his arm was starting to get shredded off.

Suddenly, his grip began to loosen as he lost motor control to his partially severed arm. The Raven slipped out of the Berserker Imperial Arm's hold, and delivered a claw swipe in retaliation. With only one arm functional, Koro tried to blocked again, but was overwhelmed by the blow. The Rogue Xenomorph then followed the assault with a tail swipe, and Koro was batted aside and sent stumbling by the impact.

Before the Raven can follow up on any more attacks, a hail storm of bullets came pouring over Its head. Seryu and Kurome were firing their weapons at the Rogue Xenomorph, aiming for Its grotesque face in order to try and hurt It.

The Raven growled in annoyance, as It raised a clawed hand to shield Its face. Both the auburn haired murderess and the teenage assassin stopped their barrage, as Seryu's Tonfa Guns clicked empty and Kurome's Revolver Pistol needed to be reloaded.

Seryu quickly revealed her mouth gun and took aim, but the Raven reacted first, by picking up a broken pipe, and sending it her way to throw off her shot. _Clang!_ The pipe smashed against the catwalk's safety railing, and caused Seryu to duck for cover. With Its other claw, the Rogue Xenomorph reached out and seized the support strut holding up the catwalk both young women were standing on. With a great tug, It tore out the catwalk's support, and a section of the platform came crashing down along with Seryu and Kurome _Crash!_ _Thud! Clang!_

Kurome fell down, and rolled to the side to recover. Seryu wasn't as fortunate, as she was caught up in all of the falling debris.

"Seryu!" Kurome yelled out worriedly "Are you alright!? Where are you!?" She squinted and searched the pile of debris. Her vision is severely hampered, as the Shoulder Lamp was dropped back up at the remaining platform section of the catwalk above, and its beam of light was facing upwards at the ceiling.

"Kurome…" Seryu called out from beneath the debris "I'm stuck. I can't move!" Kurome drew Muramasa, and strained against the power transfer once more. The strain quickly passed, and she held the katana Imperial Arm aloft.

The glow of Muramasa's red blade provided enough light for Kurome to properly search the debris. She finally sees Seryu underneath a grated panel and some steel girders pinning her to the floor. The amber eyed Jaeger struggled to lift the debris off herself, but the weight of all that metal refused to budge.

"It's too heavy!" Seryu growled. Kurome carefully stepped over to her and grabbed a girder to lift it. "Hngh!" Akame's Younger Sister grunted and heaved, as she tried free her trapped Comrade.

Seryu looked up and screamed "Kurome, Behind You!" Kurome glanced over her shoulder, and looked on in terror, as she sees the Raven looming over them. It reaches for Kurome with a clawed hand, and snatched her off the floor.

Kurome struggled to break free from the Rogue Xenomorph's grip, but to no avail. Its strength still outmatches the teenage Jaeger's drugged and Imperial Arm enhanced body. She could only watch, as the Raven held Its tail blade steady and poised to strike at her face.

"Grand Fall!" Wave called out, as the black armor clad sailor leaped out of the darkness, and drop-kicked the Raven in the face, sending It barreling away and dropping Kurome. The teenage assassin rolled away and looked up to see Wave, equipped with Grand Chariot's armor, land in front of her, and holding up a torch for light. Behind him, Esdeath and Run came dashing out of the passage opening. The General and her Aide stared at the Rogue Xenomorph, as It righted Itself back up and let out a ferocious roar.

Seeing the need to buy time, Esdeath conjured a wall of ice between the Raven and the Jaegers. The Raven threw Itself against the ice barrier, in an attempt to break it apart. The wall held for the most part, but it won't be long before It comes tearing through.

As the Raven busied Itself at tearing away at the ice wall, Esdeath addresses her Subordinates "Kurome. Where's Seryu?" Kurome points to the pile of debris, where a newly regenerated Koro was clearing away the metal scraps to free his user. Seryu climbs out of the pile and salutes her Comrades and Commander "I'm okay! Justice watched over me, and protected me from the Monster's barbaric attempt to entrap me!"

Wave rushed over to Kurome, and helped her to stand. "Are you hurt?" Wave asked Kurome. The teenage assassin gave a small grin, shook her head, and asked "How did you know, where to find us?" The black armored sailor spoke with a regretful tone from inside Grand Chariot's helmet "We didn't. Esdeath decided to find the Colony's power source." He grew silent, as he turned towards Run to indicate he explained instead.

"I convinced the General, that We should restore power to the Colony." Run answered "We were hoping to use the lights within the facilities, to help in Our search for you and Seryu." Kurome gave a small nod, to show she understood. "This place is the Auxiliary Power Station." Kurome explained. Then, she pointed at the center of the room "A sign over there described, that the large machine in the middle, is the power source."

 _Wham!_ The Raven struck at the ice wall, once more. Many cracks began to form along the barrier's surface. "We're running out of time. Everyone, get ready to fight!" Esdeath commanded. Run activates Mastema, and sprouted wings. He then spoke up "Our torches aren't going to last much longer, and Kurome's Imperial Arm can't illuminate the entire room. We need to activate the machine and restore power to the lights." The Jaegers' leader glanced at her torch, to see it has already began to burn out. Soon, Wave and Run's torches will burn out as well, leaving the room too dark to combat the Creature effectively. Esdeath concedes and responds "Fine. Do what you can, to turn on the power. Seryu, go and help him. You too, Kurome."

Seryu detached her Justice City Detector "Wave! Use this." She throws the radar-scope over to Wave "You can track that Monster with this. Just in case it falls back into the shadows. We have another light source we can use, up there." She indicates the fallen Shoulder Lamp on top of the broken catwalk.

Wave glares down at the Justice City Detector and notice a signal blip heading right for him. He turns to Kurome and spoke urgently "Fall back. The rest of Us can handle It-" _Shatter!_ The ice barrier abruptly broke apart. _Whip!_ The Raven's long tail coiled around Wave's armored body and jerked him away.

"Wave!" Kurome cried out, as she watched helplessly. Run flew towards the teenage assassin, and carried her up onto the upper catwalks. He makes for the generator "Come on! Help me activate this machine, so we can help Wave and the Others."

Seryu shot her Hookshot and grappled onto a catwalk, then zip-lined over to where Kurome dropped the Shoulder Lamp. After acquiring the light, she hastily made her way along the catwalk towards the generator, while shouting out orders to Koro "Koro! Help Wave!" The Berserker Imperial Arm charged at the Raven, but the Rogue Xenomorph quickly stepped into the shadows to avoid the incoming assault. Wave fought to break free from the confines of the Raven's tail. When his efforts proved futile, the black armor clad Jaeger took his torch and tried to burn the tail off of him. The Raven growled angrily as It whipped Its tail about, and thrash Wave into submission.

Grand Chariot's armor held up against the impacts, but the constant jostling forced Wave to drop his torch and the Justice City Detector. The overall coverage of light grew dimmer, as Wave's torch was snuffed out upon falling to the floor and stomped on by the Raven. To help keep the Raven in sight, Run threw his own torch down in front of It. "Don't let It stay in the shadows!" warned the General's Aide. Behind him, Kurome called out in panic "Hold on, Wave!"

"Kurome, I need your light over here! We've got to find the controls!" Run ordered. Kurome held up Muramasa, and joined in helping Run find the switch to turn the power on.

Esdeath brandishes her ice covered rapier and dashed straight towards the Rogue Xenomorph. Koro does the same, and charges towards the Raven's flank. The Raven whisked Its tail, and launched Wave like a projectile.

The black armored sailor is sent spiraling forward, and collided with the Berserker Imperial Arm. Both of them were thrown back and knocked down by the collision. Esdeath closed in for a strike, and swung her rapier. The Raven met the attack, and swiped with Its claws. But the blue haired General proved too fast and nimble for any claw-swipe to connect. The ice reinforced rapier slashed across the Rogue Xenomorph's torso and left a shallow gash. Acid-blood began to trickle out of the light wound.

 _Groar!_ The Raven roared again and brought Its harpoon tail blade around to try and impale Its assailant. Esdeath nimbly dodged, and cartwheeled away to a safe distance. The General calmly observed the wound she gave to the Creature. Its exoskeleton is tougher than the other Serpents, she's fought. And like the Bull Alien and Dog Alien she's killed before, she'd have to bring down the Raven in the same fashion. One quick and decisive blow, to completely bring down the Monster. "But, where?" Esdeath wondered.

Seryu shined the light of the Shoulder Lamp onto the Rogue Xenomorph, and spoke up "Commander! Its face is vulnerable! Go for the face!" Esdeath nods and respond "Alright, thanks!"

Seryu reaches her side of the generator and searched along its side. "What am I supposed to be looking for!?" she called out to Run. "Anything that looks like a switch or buttons. Try to find out, if there are any written directions on how to operate it." Answered Run. The amber eyed young woman nodded and continued searching. Her side showed nothing that may indicate controls, but one object did catch her notice.

Lying on the grated floor of the catwalk, was a firearm that resembled some sort of rifle. The weapon had a retractable stock. There were two triggers for the two barrels at its front, with the top barrel covered in a ribbed shroud and the lower had a pump mechanism below it. The gun's color was a mixture of black on both barrels, stock and grip, while the slide breech, magazine housing and carrying handle were olive green. And on one side of its magazine housing, the rifle had a digital number display showing the number 26 in red lighting.

"What is This?" asked a curious Seryu, as she picked up the odd-looking rifle. The weapon was surprisingly lightweight for its size. And for reasons unknown, the auburn haired Jaeger can feel a sense of reliance, emanating from the weapon. She holds up and shoulders the gun with both of her mechanical arms, and checked its sights "And why does it feel so comfortable and reassuring?"

Down on the lower level, Esdeath conjures ice javelins and hurled them at the Raven's face. The Rogue Xenomorph held up Its arms readily. It swats away the first ice javelin with one clawed hand. The other catches the second. Then, the third narrowly misses. And the fourth was batted away by the caught second.

The Raven quickly realizes, the ice javelins were a distraction to hide the real threat. Esdeath came barreling towards It, at high speed. She leaps up and tries to stab the Raven's face. The Rogue Xenomorph brought It harpoon tail blade around, and barely managed to parry the blow. The Jaegers' leader vaulted back after receiving the parrying blow. The Raven countered by trying to use Its tail to impale her.

Esdeath instantly raised another ice wall to absorb the Raven's attack. The tail blade embedded itself into the ice wall and the skewered through the other side. The Raven tries to reel It's tail back, but the harpoon shaped blade had hooked into the ice and now refuses to budge. Putting aside her ice covered rapier, Esdeath conjures up a large ice axe between her hands. With the ice axe held high, she brings the axe down with all her strength, and hacked off the Raven's tail blade _Chop!_

 _Groaahhh!_ The Raven roars in pain, and hastily withdraws Its injured tail. The tail blade was cut cleanly off at its base, leaving the tail with a stubbed end and dripping acid-blood. The Rogue Xenomorph looks up to "see" Esdeath standing with a sadistic grin on her face. Beside her, were Wave and Koro standing by and ready.

Before Esdeath can initiate another assault, she noticed something that caused her to drop her smirk. The room was starting to grow dim. She turned her sapphire eyes to her torch, just in time to see it fade and burn out. Everyone's gaze fell towards the last torch laying beside the Raven, as it began to fade as well. The darkness all around, began to shroud the sides of the power station. The Rogue Xenomorph quietly fell back into the shadows, and out of sight.

Esdeath began to yell out "Run! We need those lights! Now!" Up near the power generator, the Winged Jaeger places his hand on a small retractable panel. With a light pull, the panel slid open to reveal a set of switches, buttons, and input socket extensions. "Hang on, Ma'am! I may have found the controls." He looks up and calls out "Seryu! Use your light, and help the others." Seryu slung her newly acquired firearm over her shoulder, and aims the Shoulder Lamp down on the lower level, in search of the Raven.

A beam of light illuminated one part of the room, to show the Raven as It whisked Its injured tail, and flicked drops of acid-blood towards Esdeath and the other two with her. Seryu cried "Look out!" just before Koro place himself in front, and blocked the acid-blood with his large body. The acid burned away at the Berserker Imperial Arm's flesh, but eventually stopped and allowed him to regenerate.

"It's using Its corrosive blood, as a weapon." Esdeath surmised "It's trying to pick Us off from the cover of darkness, so we can't retaliate." She sees the Creature move to the side as It attempts to get out of Seryu's light. With much darkness still covering most of the room, the General had Wave, Koro, and herself back up along a wall. Their position should narrow the field, and prevent attacks from behind.

The Raven ducked back into the shadows again, and sent out more acid. "Don't let the acid touch you!" barked Wave, as he dodge aside to avoid the yellow fluid. Several more splashes of acid-blood came in wide arcs. Koro receives some more of the acid, which threatened to completely dissolve him, so he was forced to fall back.

Esdeath and Wave stood ready to see what the Rogue Xenomorph was going to do next. Seryu manages to adjust her angle, and put her light on the Raven once more, just as It flicks more acid. The large drops splashed straight forward, which the blue haired General and her black armored Subordinate were able to dodge.

Suddenly, another spread of acid splashed forth, and Koro was still busy regenerating to intercept. With no other option, Esdeath conjures up another ice wall to block the acid. As the yellow fluid splashes onto the ice wall and started to melt it, something happens that the Jaegers' leader wasn't prepared for. A black sharp object came smashing through the icy barrier, and barreling straight towards Esdeath. The sapphire eyed woman had only a split second to react, but managed to hold up her rapier to block. As the high velocity object collided with her rapier at lethal speed, she recognizes the object as the Monster's severed tail blade. "That's what It was planning..." Surmised Esdeath, as the force of the impact sent her backwards against the wall in a violent _Slam!_

"Ungh!" gasped Esdeath, as she collapsed on the floor. All around, her Subordinates shouted out in panic.

"Ma'am!" Wave called out.

"General Esdeath!" screamed Seryu.

"Hurry, Run! They need help, down there!" Kurome said urgently. Beside her, Run had took a cable extension from the generator's input, and jacked it into the Portable Terminal for interface. Words began to appear on the Portable Terminal's screen "NEGOTIATING WITH HOST. PLEASE STAND BY…HOST IDENTIFIED AS INSTALLATION AUXILIARY POWER SUPPLY. DO YOU WISH TO INITIATE ACTIVATION PROCEDURES?" Run calls out and announces "Okay! I'm in the system! Starting it up, right now!" He types in a response "YES"

More words appear on the Portable Terminal's screen "INITIALIZING STARTUP. PLEASE STAND BY…" Throughout the room, a series of mechanical humming and whirring began to sound off and grow in volume.

Suddenly, a splash of more acid-blood came out of the shadows, and headed straight towards a vulnerable Esdeath. "Dammit!" Wave dove forward and placed himself in front to receive the acid. The yellow fluid splashed dead center onto Grand Chariot's black armor. _Sszzzt!_ The acid had already began to burn through the armor plating.

Kurome yelled in horror "Wave, No!"

Seryu calls down worriedly "He has to get that fluid off his body! Fast!"

As Wave tried using his armored hands to wipe off the acid with futility, Esdeath began to groan out from behind him "Wave…get rid of your armor…deactivate Grand Chariot…Quickly!" Without wasting another second, Wave deactivates Grand Chariot, and the black armor dematerializes off of him, taking the acid-blood with it. Most of it anyway.

A small trickle of acid remained and kept burning through Wave's jacket. "Shit!" Wave hurriedly tried to remove his jacket, as the acid began to dissolve a rolled up magazine book within his jacket pocket. He snatched the adult magazine from out of the pocket, and threw it away. The last of the acid lost potency, as it burned the remains of the magazine.

Wave breathed a sigh of relief "Whew! That was close-" _Sszzzt!_ His moment of respite was interrupted, as he overheard the continuing sound of burning acid behind him.

Wave looks around and sees the previous splashes of acid, that he and Esdeath supposedly dodged, eating away at the support struts to the catwalks above. "No Way! Could It have been aiming for those, this whole time?-" _Groan! Crash!_ The catwalk overhead came crashing down, right on top of Wave and Esdeath.

"Wave!" Kurome screamed in shock.

"Commander!" Seryu yelled down.

"Almost got it!" growled Run, as he stared frantically at the Portable Terminal. The words on screen currently reads "PRELIMINARY STARTUP COMPLETE. REROUTING INSTALLATION POWER GRID. PLEASE STAND BY…"

Along the ceiling, rows of halogen lights began to flicker and glow as power began to flow through their circuits, once again. It started to become easier to see, as light shone throughout the large room. Seryu, Kurome, and Run looked anxiously over at the new pile of debris. They couldn't see their Commander, or the sailor Jaeger.

"Koro! Clear away that metal debris!" Seryu commanded her Berserker Imperial Arm. Koro hastily began digging away at the debris. He was halfway finished, when the Raven jumped him from behind and put him in a headlock.

The Rogue Xenomorph tried wrenching at the Berserker Imperial Arm's neck, in an effort to pull his head off. But Koro's Trump Card granted him superior strength, and he's already begun prying the Raven's Arms off, gaining leverage by slipping a hand beneath each arm. In a moment, Koro will have broken out of the Raven's hold. But the Raven has a way of stopping him. It can now "perceive" the core inside Koro's head.

The Raven brings Its tail around and held it up over Koro's head. Drops of acid-blood began to trickle onto the Berserk Imperial Arm's scalp, and it began burning into his skull. Koro lets out an urgent growl, and stepped up his efforts to break free. But the Rogue Xenomorph bought more time, by latching Its claws and finding purchase into Koro's red flesh.

Koro's regenerative abilities struggled to combat the acid's dissolving properties, but with every drop of yellow fluid added to the burning wound, the more potent the acid burn. At this rate, the acid while have reached and dissolve the core, before the wound can heal it closed.

Seryu cries out in panic "Koro's in trouble!" Run spreads Mastema's wings and sent a volley of razor feathers at the Raven. The feathers glanced off the Raven's tough exoskeleton harmlessly. Seryu joins in the shootout, as she unslung the Pulse-Rifle and opened fire _Rata-ta-ta-ta!_ A barrage of Pulse-Rifle bullets peppered away at the Raven's exoskeleton, and had no effect than previous weaponry used against It.

Seryu's face warps and screws up with frustration "What the Hell is with this Thing! Why Can't We Hurt It!" _Rata-ta-ta-ta-…!_ Seryu continues her stream of Pulse-Rifle fire, until the weapon goes empty _Click!_ In desperation, she pulls the gun's other trigger and the lower barrel fires a projectile _Plunk!_

The grenade whizzed on by, behind the Raven's back, and hit the nearby wall _Kaboom!_ The wall explodes and random cable wires were blasted loose, with they're with severed ends writhing and crackling with electricity.

An extremely loud alarm blared throughout the Auxiliary Power Station. With it, a female voice calmly spoke from an electronic PA system.

" _ **Attention. Emergency. Power fluctuations detected within the vicinity. Please notify the nearest available Maintenance Technician."**_

Run listens attentively to the PA voice. He then spies the wildly crackling power cables whipping around along the wall near Koro and the Raven. So far, a deep hole has burned its way through Koro's skull. It's only a matter of seconds, before the core is reached and dissolved.

Run looks back over to Seryu who was carefully working the pump action on her powerful new weapon, and sees it chamber another explosive round. And finally he glances at the Portable Terminal's view screen to see another set of words "IRREGULARITIES DETECTED ALONG DAMAGED LINES. DIVERT POWER FLOW, TO PREVENT HAZARD?"

Run calls out to his amber eyed Comrade "Seryu! On my command, aim for the Creature's side, and blow It towards the wall!" He then turns to Kurome "You stay here and keep an eye on the computer. When I give you the signal, type in the word YES, on this keyboard." Kurome sheathes Muramasa and sets down near the Portable Terminal. She sees the keys with the letters Y, E, and S, then nods in understanding.

The winged Jaeger flies across the room and hovered above Koro and the Raven. As soon as he got in position, Run calls out "Seryu, Now!" Seryu adjusts her aim and fired a second grenade _Plunk!_ This time, the round hits squarely on the Rogue Xenomorph's side _Kaboom!_ The Raven was blasted off of Koro, allowing the Berserker Imperial Arm to be released from the headlock. Koro grasped the top of his own head, and violently tore out a piece of acid covered flesh to save himself from having his core dissolved.

 _Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Groar!_ The Raven fell against the loose cables, and roared in pain, as the cables electrocuted It. "Koro! Finish It!" Seryu commanded, and Koro grabbed a chord of one of the loose power cables, then jammed it down the Raven's throat. _Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!_

A long moment has passed, and the Raven stopped moving. Run signals Kurome, to divert the power flow. A moment later, the alarms stopped and the PA voice made another announcement

" _ **Power rerouted. Warning. Circuit abnormalities detected in A-Block, C-Block, and D-Block. Please notify the nearest available Maintenance Technician."**_

The damaged cables ceased jolting the Rogue Xenomorph, letting It fall to the floor in a heap of charred and blackened exoskeleton. Kurome called out to her Comrades "Did We Kill It!?" For good measure, Koro twisted the Raven's head a full 360 degrees, and broke Its neck. He then resumes clearing away the debris covering Wave and Esdeath.

Kurome steps away from the Portable Terminal, and along the catwalk. "Wave! Are you alright!?" she called out, as she made for the broken section of the catwalk looming over the debris pile. Run flies over the teenage assassin, to pick her up and set her down on the lower level. Back at the generator, Seryu slung the rifle over her shoulder, equipped and deployed her Hookshot, then zip-lined off the catwalk down towards her Comrades. "Is the Commander okay?" she asks upon reaching her fellow Jaegers.

Koro lifts up the last piece of debris, and throws it aside to reveal a small round dome of ice. Beneath the ice, and lying safely together, were Esdeath and Wave. Both of them were locked together in a tight and awkward embrace, to save space underneath the cover of ice.

As Esdeath calmly laid still and began to disperse the ice off of them, a shivering Wave clung to her for warmth. Wave had his arms wrapped around Esdeath's sides while her legs tangled around his as the Sailor's hips rested between the General's smooth thighs, and his face was buried right between her large soft breasts.

Kurome ignored the intimate contact between Wave and Esdeath, and ran to pull her Comrade off their Leader.

Wave came away in a shaking fit. His face was slightly blue, and his body was cold to the touch. "K-Kurome…" Wave spoke in shaking breaths "I'm…s-so…c-c-cold!" Kurome hastily reached for the Sailor's Imperial Arm "You're freezing to death! Hurry, and equip Grand Chariot's armor to regulate your temperature!" she places Grand Chariot's cutlass in his hands. But whenever Wave tries to activate his Imperial Arm, he'd break down in a shivering fit.

"He needs to warm up first, to stop all that shaking." Run surmised. He quickly glances around, and spotted a small fire left by Seryu's initial grenade attack nearby. "Help me drag him closer to that flame." Run instructed, then he and Kurome both took Wave by his cold hands, and dragged him over to the small fire.

The flame's radiance slowly started to warm up Wave's body, so Kurome placed herself on top of him, and hugged him tight as she attempted to help warm him faster with her own body heat. Wave's shivering motion began to relax, enough for him to deploy Grand Chariot's armor. As the black armor materialized over her Comrades body, Kurome stepped back and waited for his recovery. The black armored Sailor laid still, then after a moment, he rose and stood up to examine his surroundings.

"I'm okay." Wave declared "My Imperial Arm helped resolve my low body temperature." He turned to address his Comrades "Thank you, Kurome. And you too, Run. You both help me out." He then turned to his Commander "I suppose, I should thank you too, Ma'am. You're powers saved my life." Esdeath makes a haughty scowl and turned away. "Next time, mind your surroundings…" she muttered. Run walked over to her and asked "Are you alright?" the blue haired woman waved him away "I formed an armor of ice along my back, to absorb the brunt of the hit against the wall. I'm sure there's nothing but light bruising to worry about." The Jaegers' leader then checked her surroundings "Anyway. What just happened? Where's that large Beast?" Seryu and a normal sized Koro ran up to them, beaming with pride. "We've killed It!" Seryu declares happily, as she points over to the dead Raven's body "The Evil Creature of Darkness, has been vanquished by Our Light of Justice!"

Esdeath picked up the Justice City Detector, and hands it to her auburn haired Subordinate "It won't be the last One, We'll encounter. There could be many more down here, so stay sharp." Kurome spoke up "Me and Seryu have. I think we've got Them all. Else, We'd have seen more of Them." Seryu concurred "It's true, Ma'am! They were disgusting Monsters, ugly as Sin, and needed to be purged from existence!"

Run gave a puzzled stared, so Kurome explained more specifically "We've come across a pack of Serpents that weren't like the Ones We've fought before. These looked different, twisted and desiccated. Like some sort of mutation." She points down the passageway leading back into the sewers.

Wave stared at Kurome quietly "So, you guys did run into trouble…" he threw a slightly accusing glare at Run, from behind Grand Chariot's faceplate. Kurome looked back at the black armored Sailor and responded "We found more than that." She turns to Seryu "Show them."

Seryu stood before Esdeath, Run, and Wave "Koro! Hudson." The biological Imperial Arm expanded his mouth and belched out an unconscious man in dark green armor. Koro then laid him out in front of the Jaegers.

"Who is he?" Wave asked, and Kurome explains "His name is Hudson. We found him down in those tunnels, before we made our way here." Run crouched down next to Hudson's body, to examine him "There's barely a pulse, and his breathing is extremely slow. What exactly has happened, to make him like this?" Seryu shrugged and answered "We don't know. We found him like that, inside a cocoon made from the Serpents' vile slime." Kurome then adds "Just like those Imperial Soldiers from the Expeditionary Force."

Run nods and holds his chin in thought "So, he wound up just like the others. Another victim of the Serpents." Wave spoke up in a anxious tone "Does that mean, he's gonna burst at any given moment? The same way, that happened to Bols?" Kurome makes a grim expression "We figured, We should try to get some information out of him. Before his time comes."

Run nods again in understanding "Good call. But let's not determine his fate, before going over a few facts." He faces Kurome and Seryu directly "Have either of you seen any of those oval leathery pods, like the ones seen back at Serpents' Hive?" Both young women shook their heads. The winged Jaeger then asks "What about those Facehugging Creatures, like the One that got on Bols' face? Have you seen any Them nearby, when you found this man Hudson?" Again, the teenage assassin and the auburn haired murderess shook their heads. "Then, there may be a chance Hudson here won't end up like Bols and those unfortunate Soldiers." surmised the General's Aide.

Esdeath held up a hand and got all her Subordinates' attention "We'll find out soon enough. For now, let's take him with Us, and wait until he wakes up." She makes a sadistic smirk "When he does, We'll question him, and get him to spill every bit of information he knows." The Jaegers' leader began marching towards the passageway leading back to the elevator "Saddle up, Everyone! Let's head back to Operations, and find that control room."

The Jaegers gathered up everything they needed to take with them. Run flew back up to the Portable Terminal near the generator, disconnected the device, and fold it up to carry it. Seryu sets the Shoulder Lamp and the Pulse-Rifle near the unconscious Hudson, then turned to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro! Load up!" Koro enlarged his mouth, and the amber eyed Jaeger placed both the lighting equipment and the weapon inside. Koro then expanded his arms, and gently put the Colonial Marine back in his maw before slowly closing. Wave and Kurome started walking towards the passageway after Esdeath.

Wave started apologizing "I'm sorry, I couldn't come sooner…" but Kurome held up a hand to interrupt "You did what you were supposed to do, by following orders and choosing a path that benefited Everyone." she smiles and leans against him "It was the right thing to do, and I'm proud of you for that." Wave turned and faced front to stare at Esdeath's back.

Earlier, when the large Serpent Beast brought the catwalk down on top of Wave and his Commander, panic and an instinct for self preservation spurred him into conducting himself in what others would consider indecent. But, much to his shame, he now realized how nice it felt, to have a woman as gorgeous and voluptuous as General Esdeath held within his embrace. To have her long blue hair cascade over his shaking hands. To listen to her breathing and heartbeat reverberate against his cheek while face was smothered by her large breasts. And then smelling her scent when there was enough breathing space after being pulled away by Kurome. All of those recent experiences hardly garnered his notice or embarrassment at the time, as the devastating cold was too intense to ignore, and it would have killed the Sailor if Kurome and Run hadn't thought fast in helping their freezing Comrade.

Within Grand Chariot's helmet, Wave closed his eyes and smiled in relief "Thank You, Kurome. For everything." The teenage assassin then made a frown "You need to be more careful, Wave. Just because I agreed to steer clear of any major dangers, doesn't mean you can put yourself in harm's way often. We could've lost you, just now. Even, if you had the foresight to layer extra protection beneath your jacket." Behind the black armor's faceplate, the Sailor Jaeger blushed a deep red "Umm…Yeah. Foresight. That's right!" Kurome gave him a perplexed stare, but didn't ask any questions. The Jaegers fought the Creatures once more, and they won with no lose of life. For that, Akame's Younger Sister was thankful for a good turnout. It was fortunate for her Comrades to survive this incursion, by the skin of their teeth. And all this debacle happened, because she fell down a hole.

"Thank you, Wave. For coming to my rescue." Kurome murmured softly. Wave turned to her "Huh? Did you say something?" she shakes her head and replies "It's nothing. Let's just get out of here, and find more clues about this place."

No one spoke further as the Jaegers made their way out of the Auxiliary Power Station, and towards the room with the demolished stairwell. Esdeath approached the shaft leading upwards to the upper levels, and frowned. The General's back still somewhat ached, and she's certain using her powers would agitate it further. Fortunately for her, Run stepped up and got Everyone's attention "This way." he points at the elevator platform "We can use that, to take us back up."

The Jaegers step through a retractable rail bar, and boarded the elevator. "Okay, now what?" asked Seryu. Beside her Esdeath also inquired "What's supposed to happen, Run?" Run traced along the sides, in search of something "A lot of heavy materials and equipment were used in the construction of this place. They wouldn't have used the stairs, because that would have been difficult and time-consuming. So, it stands to reason, they Colonists would have some other means for transporting themselves and what they were moving between the upper and lower levels." The General's Aide spotted a square shaped device on the side of the guard rails.

There was a set of buttons on the device, and Run pressed the one indicated by the stamped word "UP". The gap in the guard rails closed up, as a rail piece slid into place _Clank!_ Suddenly, the whole platform lurched upwards _Vvooomm!_ Every Jaeger temporarily lost balance, as the elevator began its steady climb to the upper levels.

"We're moving…" commented Esdeath.

"Whoa! How convenient!" marveled Wave.

"It's like magic!" declared an astounded Seryu, as she peeked over the railing to see the lower levels grow distant beneath them.

"Advanced technology…" corrected Kurome, then she sat down, took out her bag of sweets, and began eating. All around, her Comrades settled down and waited for the elevator to reach its destination.

 **Eastern Outskirts, City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Mine was beginning to lose patience. There hasn't been a mission update from anyone for a long while. Ever since Lubbock managed to sneak Leone and Chelsea into the church, the radio network stayed silent. And, by her count, one Rakshasa Demon is still at large and could be anywhere. "Uhh! This is taking forever!" she complained "I say, We go into town and hunt the last Rakshasa Demon Ourselves."

Tatsumi glared at her with apprehension "You know as well as I do, We can't abandon Our post. Boss' orders were clear." He then looks down at Incursio's sword form thoughtfully "But, I agree with how you feel. The longer we sit here doing nothing, the more likely Everybody else find themselves in danger. Just like what happened to the members of the Spy Team, and the same with Hicks and Lubbock."

Mine stared at the green eyed fighter for moment. She can see the look of concern for They're Friends and Comrades, written all over his face. "This is distracting him. He needs to focus…" thought the Genius Sniper, so she spoke in an assuring tone "Look. Hicks and Lubbock may have found themselves in a pinch, at the beginning. But, don't underestimate their tenacity. Hicks dealt the killing blow to one of Our opponents, and a deadly one at that. Lubbock managed to hold off two of the Rakshasa Demons, long enough for Su to come help. That comes to show how tough and resourceful, Our Friends can be." Tatsumi nods in understanding, but his expression remained concerned.

Wanting to further do away with Tatsumi's doubts, Mine clapped a hand over his shoulder "Don't take this the wrong way, but you should worry about not being a burden to others." Tatsumi frowned at the comment's sting, but Mine continued speaking "Right now, your only concern should be about holding your own against Our Enemies. Everyone else is competent enough as fighters, and It's alright to worry about them from time to time. But, you must first think for yourself and how reliable you can be. If you're not bringing your A-game, then what's the point in worrying about the Others' safety? Even if you have the opportunity to help out a Friend or Comrade, what good will it do, if you cannot ensure their well-being?" her thoughts drifted to the memory of Sheele and her own helplessness for what happened to the purple haired bespectacled woman. All because she couldn't handle a delusional psychopath named Seryu Ubiquitous and her ravenous monster Imperial Arm, Koro.

Emotion began to well up inside of Mine. But, before she tried to hold back her tears, she felt Tatsumi place his hand on hers gripping his shoulder. "You're right. Thank you, Mine. I shouldn't be wasting time worrying about the Others, when I can spend it growing stronger and getting ready for battle."

Mine blushed, as she withdrew her hand. But, Tatsumi didn't notice as he was busy checking to make sure the Shotgun Hicks gave him, was fully loaded. _Ch-chk!_ Tatsumi worked the pump-action, and chambered a round. The pink haired sharpshooter overcame her initial embarrassment, and did likewise by checking her Pulse-Rifle. She takes a spare magazine clip and slapped it into the ammo housing _Click!_ The 00 on the gun's ammo counter display, turned into 99. Mine then carefully took out some grenade shells from her pouch, and began loading them into the Grenade Launcher's magazine tube _K-chk! K-chk! K-chk! K-chk!_

Off to the side, on a cliff overlooking the ravine and the ruins below, a woman in a martial arts garb peered down at the two unwary members of Night Raid.

"Interesting weapons, they're holding." commented Suzuka "Those don't seem like Imperial Arms, nor do they resemble conventional weaponry." She glanced behind her, for a quick look in the town's direction "Maybe, it wouldn't be a good idea to fool around with these people. Better head back and tell the others. We'll need to be ready for whatever these two might be capable of-" _Kaboom!_ The cliff side suddenly exploded, then the rocks she was standing on blew apart and fell beneath her.

"Dammit!" The Rakshasa Demon flipped and somersaulted away from the collapsing earth, then landed gracefully on the canyon floor. She looks up to see both her targets brandishing their guns, and aiming towards her. One of them, the young man with the brown hair and green eyes, was currently wearing the white and silver armor of Imperial Arm, Incursio.

Tatsumi spoke from within Incursio's helmet "Bishop was right. She was watching Us, this whole time." Beside him, Mine narrowed her eyes and her finger drifted to the Pulse-Rifle's trigger. Suzuka held up her hands and began to speak "You're wearing the Imperial Arm, Demon Armor Incursio. But, your physical description does not match that of its current wielder, Bulat. So, tell me. What has happened to the 100 Man Slayer Bulat?"

Mine squeezed the Pulse-Rifle's trigger and fired at the Rakshasa Demon's center mass _Rata-ta-ta-ta!_ Suzuka had already shifted her vitals away from the targeted parts of her body, before calmly receiving the barrage.

As the pink haired sharpshooter let up on her assault in confusion, Suzuka retaliates by extending her fingernails and sending the razor tips straight towards Mine. "So, this is the rumored Body Manipulation Technique…" Tatsumi intervenes by aiming the Shotgun and firing at the nails _Blam!_ The extended nails were blasted clean off of Suzuka's fingertips.

"Ahhh! Hahhh!" Suzuka was exhaling in ecstasy as she experience the pain of losing her fingernails, combined with the bullet wounds made by Pulse-Rifle rounds.

"What's with this woman!?" asked a bemused Mine. Beside her, Tatsumi worked the Shotgun's pump-action, and chambered another round _Ch-chk!_

Suzuka quickly came to her senses, and dodged at the same instant Tatsumi fired his next shot _Blam!_ The conic spread of buckshot was just wide enough to clip the Rakshasa Demon's side, but it had no apparent effect.

Suzuka ignores her recent gunshot wound, and began to sprint away from the Night Raid assassins. Mine tried to foil Suzuka's escape, by switching back to the Grenade Launcher, and taking careful aim.

Too late. The fleeing Rakshasa Demon dashed around a rocky bend, and out of sight. "She's getting away!" Mine yelled urgently. Tatsumi slung his Shotgun to his back, and dashed off in pursuit "She must not make it back to Borick!" He goes around the bend, and down a trench leading out of the ravine.

"Tatsumi, Wait!" Mine called out after her Comrade, but the exclamation went unheard. With a frustrated growl, the pink haired gunner ran after them.

Within the Cheyenne Dropship, Najenda and Company were gathered around a seated Bishop and his array of computer screens. Night Raid's leader spoke urgently into her headset ("Mine! What's your situation? Over.")

Over the Dropship's PA speakers, Mines voices blared for Everyone to hear ("We've encountered the last remaining Rakshasa Demon! Tatsumi has engaged, and I'm in pursuit!")

Najenda nods in confirmation and spoke again ("Understood. Keep up the chase, and try not to lose her.") She looks at a display screen showing an overlaying map of Kyoroch. On it, were the blipping signals of Tatsumi's and Mine's Locators, following an infrared marker of the Enemy they're pursuing. Najenda talks into her headset once more ("Lubbock. You there?")

("I read you, Boss. Loud and clear.") Lubbock responded. ("I want you to use Cross Tails, and set up a barrier along the city's eastern border.") Najenda commanded ("Do not let the Enemy get by you, at all cost!")

("Don't worry.") Lubbock assured ("I'll take care if it.") The radio network goes silent, and Bishop, Najenda, Ripley, and Newt stared patiently at Tatsumi's Locator position as it steadily closes in on Suzuka's thermal signature.

Down in the rock trench, Tatsumi was gaining on Suzuka. Although the Rakshasa Demon was fast and agile, the superhuman strength and speed of Incursio's armor abilities allowed the newest member of Night Raid to overtake her.

Suzuka was so intent on running away, she failed to notice how close Tatsumi had come. The silver armored fighter activated Incursio's Trump Card, Invisibility, so as not to lose the opportunity to take his target unawares.

"Gotcha!" upon reaching behind the fleeing Rakshasa Demon, Tatsumi became visible, manifested Incursio's spear sub-weapon Neuntote, and swung down on Suzuka. Only for her to quickly grip the weapon by the haft, and brought its armored wielder down, using his own momentum.

Tatsumi was laid out against the ground, in a unbalanced heap. He faces up at Suzuka, who was looking down at him while giggling playfully "Hehehe…you broke my nails, earlier." The silver armored fighter growled in response "Why, you…" The Rakshasa Demon continued speaking in a mocking tone "It's painfully obvious, that you lack real battle experience." She stood ready, as Tatsumi stood up off the ground.

"It won't be possible for me to outrun him." Suzuka thought "But since he's so heavily armored, it'll only be a matter of time before he can no longer maintain it. He'll run out energy, then I can escape." She licks her finger in anticipation "Patience is the key, when it comes to fighting Imperial Arms users.

"Mine's right…" Tatsumi clenches his fist in frustration "I'm still so Weak!" Within his helmet, he found himself clenching his teeth "If I don't step it up, and hold my own, I won't be any help at all to my Friends and Comrades!" his thoughts flashed back to his fallen, Bulat, Sheele, Ieyasu, and Sayo "I've had so many regrets!" Then, he found himself thinking about those he wanted to protect, Najenda, Susanoo, Lubbock, Chelsea, Leone, Akame, and Mine "But, I won't let it happen again!" The silver armored fighter put aside Neuntote, and unslung the Shotgun once more "Hicks, Ripley, Bishop, and Newt, please lend me your strength!" he worked the pump-action, and chambered a third round _Ch-chk!_

Suzuka placed a hand in front of her, then stood in a ready position, while Tatsumi brandished the Shotgun and stared at his opponent as they both entered a stand-off. "She's formidable in close combat. Her hand to hand martial arts can easily overcome my attacks." Tatsumi surmised "And firearms don't seem to affect her, since she took a full-on bullet spray from Mine without faltering. Could this be one of the abilities granted by Body Manipulation? I need to know more…"

"How are your wounds?" asked Tatsumi. Suzuka stood there and respond in bewilderment "Are you really gonna stand there, and ask such nonsense? Shouldn't you be worried about how much longer, before you can't continue wearing your Imperial Arm?" Within Incursio's helmet, Tatsumi made a smirk "The same can be said about your situation. How long do you think you can wait, before my partner catches up?"

Suzuka grins and answers "I'm willing to make that gamble. Her weapon didn't kill me the first time..." With one hand, she undid the seams of her top clothing "As you can see…" the female Rakshasa Demon partially opens her robe, and reveals her midriff. Multiple bullet holes had burrowed into her body, where her heart and stomach should be, and passed out through the back. Much to Tatsumi's dismay, the wounds have already started to close.

"You shifted your vital organs, so they wouldn't get shot?" presumed Tatsumi. Suzuka grins and winks at him "Any injury, done to where there are no risks of inflicting critical damage, is no different than giving me a paper cut." She began to lewdly lick her fingers again "So, how about it? Think that weapon of yours can achieve that which you desire? Or, will it achieve mine?"

Tatsumi glared down at his Shotgun for a second "What I desire?" that comment made his thoughts drift towards everything he ever wanted in life. To save his village from poverty, overthrow the corrupt Empire and do away with the evil Prime Minister and General Esdeath, to protect his fellow members of Night Raid and share their victory together, and most recently, to save the entire World from the Aliens. The stakes have never been higher, and all it takes is the life of one man, to help turn it all around. Borick must perish, so that the Rebellion can set off a chain of events, that may lead to the end of one decrepit nation, and the birth of another, better one. And it must be done soon, before the Aliens come for all humanity, and one country will fall after another. Until every last living thing dies.

"I desire many things." Tatsumi admitted "I wanted Everyone to be happy and safe. I wanted for there to be no more hatred, suffering, and death. I wanted this World to be a better place, and not come to an end." He looks up from behind Incursio's faceplate and continues "And, to make all that happen, it's necessary to kill a man." Much to Suzuka's surprise, he lowered his Shotgun "You should give up, and surrender." the silver armored fighter asked pleadingly "We do not wish kill you, if we can help it. We need strong warriors like you, to help Us fight what's coming." The Rakshasa Demon threw him a suspicious look "What are you talking about? What exactly is coming?"

"A Destructive Plague, that's far worse than any man can dream of. And, It's coming after all of Us." explained Tatsumi "No one alone can stop Them. Only by working together, do We stand a chance." He held out an armored hand and reached out invitingly "Come with me. You can be a part of a great and noble cause." Suzuka silently stared at Tatsumi's outstretched hand. "Think of the greater good, We can achieve together. A bright future for all Mankind."

Suddenly, Suzuka whipped her arm forward and slapped away Tatsumi's gesture. "If you wanted to deceive me, you should've come up with a better story than that." berated the Rakshasa Demon "I don't care about the good of others, or what they need. I only care about what I want." She reels her extended arm back, and stood ready to attack "And, what I want right now, is for you to come at me like you intend to hurt me!"

Tatsumi aimed his Shotgun, and fired once more _Blam!_ Yet again, Suzuka dodged and was clipped by scattershot. "She's just like Esdeath. She can't be reasoned with. All she cares about, is inflicting misery on people." muttered Tatsumi, as he worked the pump-action _Ch-chk!_ "Gonna have to put her down! But, how can I do it!? She's too fast for me to get a decent shot." He hastily surveyed his surroundings, hoping to find some sort of advantage from the terrain.

The trench they were in had a broad spacing, and wasn't narrow enough to hamper Suzuka's movements. On one side of the canyon, was a row of old ruined buildings carved straight into the side of the rock formation. The ruins only had a few openings, that allowed entry into their dark interior.

Tatsumi thought of an idea "What if…" he began stepping sidelong through an opening, and backed into the ruins. Light from outside filtered into the ruins' few openings, and granted limited visibility within. The silver armored fighter glanced beside him, and sees that Suzuka had already followed him inside and was waiting expectantly.

"Did you really think going into the ruins was gonna help you at all?" asked a smug Suzuka "Were you going to try to become invisible, and take me by surprise like before? Or were you perhaps going to snipe me from cover, so as not to give away your gun's trajectory?" Tatsumi let his Shotgun go, and left it hanging from its strap. He then drew Neuntote, and answered "Neither…" As quickly as he possibly could, the silver armored assassin swung his spear, and smashed every building support he can find.

"No need to be fancy about this! I'll just defeat you with brute force, Rakshasa Demon!" Tatsumi tore at anything that seemed like it could hold up the ruins. Walls and support pillars gave way and collapsed in on themselves, as the old building grew more shaky and unstable.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Suzuka yelled in panic, as she searched desperately for an exit. Unfortunately, the widespread damage to the ruin's interior had already closed off all viable passage to the outside. "There's no way for you to escape!" declared Tatsumi, as he continued demolishing everything around him "I'll bring this whole place down!"

Suzuka continued to desperately search for a way out. She paused and looked up, just in time to see the ceiling cave in, as rocks began to topple from above. With nowhere to go, the Rakshasa Demon could only watch helplessly, as large piece of stone fell right on top of her _Wham!_

From outside the crumbling ruins, Mine watches in shock, as every last inch of the old building came crashing down. Clouds of dirt and dust were kicked up, as the devastation settled all around the canyon.

"Tatsumi!" Mine cried out for her Comrade, as she ran towards the pile of crushed earth and stone. She frantically began digging away at the rubble "Tatsumi!? Answer me!" The pink haired sniper lifted rock after rock, fearing the worst. After a while, before she was about to give up, a large stone boulder came off the ground near her.

The rock rolled aside, to reveal a silver armored Tatsumi breathing heavily and wiping some dust off of himself. "Phew! I think that got her…" he scanned his immediate surroundings in search of the Rakshasa Demon. After confirming Suzuka was no longer around, the new member of Night Raid pumped his fist in victory "Alright!" he failed to notice Mine nearby, until the latter threw herself against him and lightly battered at him with clenched fists. "Stupid Idiot! What were you thinking, going off on your own and pulling a stunt like that!?" Mine chided.

A bewildered Tatsumi deactivated Incursio's armor, and held Mine's fists to stop her from hitting him. "Geez, Mine. I only did what I thought was right, and I had to stop that Rakshasa Demon with all my strength." Mine refrained from further hitting him, then wrapped her arms around him "Good for nothing brute!" was all she said in response. The green eyed fighter remained perplexed at his Comrade's behavior, prompting him to explain "But, I managed to pull it off, right? You said it, yourself. That I should worry about holding my own, and not become a burden to others. I was only thinking about you, when I went after the Enemy."

Mine stared in disbelief. "You…you make it sound like, I was holding you back!" she retorted angrily, then she released her hold on Tatsumi, and looked away "But..." her thoughts drifted back to the moment when Suzuka's attack would've skewered the Genius Sniper, had it not been for Tatsumi's quick response with his Shotgun "You really did help me out, that time. Thanks…" she looks back at Tatsumi, with her face slightly blushing. The green eyed fighter blushed as well, as he shifted his gaze away

"Yeah." Tatsumi began to rub the back of his head, while fidgeting "You better get ahold of the Boss, on the radio. Tell her and Bishop, that the last Rakshasa Demon has been neutralized. It's all up to Leone and Chelsea, now." Mine nods in understanding, and placed a hand on her headset to speak into the mic ("This is Mine. The Threat has been dealt with. The elimination team are in the clear.") Over the communications network, Everyone heard the news, and waited for Night Raid's leader to reply.

("That's wonderful news!") Najenda praised, then she began giving orders ("Alright, Everyone fall back to the Dropship, double-time! Let's get ready to pick the elimination team, once the deed has been done.")

("We're on our way.") Mine responded. Behind her, Tatsumi transformed back into Incursio's armor, picked up Mine in a bridal hold, and dashed out of the canyon, towards the Cheyenne Dropship.

("This is Hicks. Akame and I are falling back.") announced Hicks. He then gives Akame a thumbs-up, and they both left the crypt, as they made their way out of the cemetery.

("Lubbock here. I'm heading to the ship, now.") informed Lubbock, as he zip-lined across rooftops, using his Imperial Arm.

Lastly, Pais' voice sounded out through the radio transmission ("The Spy Team will remain in the city, to help cover Night Raid's tracks, and oversee the efforts in pulling out all persons involved, once the Mission is complete.")

Ripley spoke into her headset ("Take care, you guys. And stay safe.")

Najenda follows up afterwards ("Night Raid is thankful, Spy Team. Your support has been a great help.")

Hicks concurs as well ("We appreciate all the you've done for Us. Please, stay alive, and make it through to the end.")

A silent moment passed by, before Pais spoke again ("We'll see you all at the Capital, when this is over. Farewell, until then.") The radio network goes quiet, as Everyone got ready for the last phase of the Operation.

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

A set of elevator doors retracted open, and the Jaegers stepped back into the ravaged halls of the Level 2 corridor. After taking a ride on the sub-levels' elevator platform, they navigated the Colony's illuminated halls to find themselves back at the auto-sentry guarded barricade. The barricade remained as solid as the Jaegers had found it, and was still blocking their way forward.

"I saw an offshoot in a different direction." Run narrowed his eyes, and spoke up "Look over there." He points to a small door cleverly tucked away alongside a dark corner of the barricade. If it hadn't been for somewhat decent lighting from the now circulating power, all eyes would have missed the door entirely. "Let's see if We can get around this barrier." the General's Aide explains "This whole passage seems to be rigged to keep Anything from coming in, and We don't know what's waiting for Us on the other side."

Wave looked at the door skeptically "What makes you think nothing's waiting for Us, behind that door?" Run addresses his Comrades, and replies "Those who erected that barricade, and laid out those automatic-sentry guns. They were intending to hunker down, and hold out against the Serpents, until help arrives." He indicates the side door "When preparing for a siege, it's a standard tactic to install a small opening along the front, in case the defenses were ever bypassed by the enemy. It would allow for the besieged to make an escape, if the front was determined to be clear of hostiles." Esdeath nods her head, and concurs "He's right. A wise strategist wouldn't have bet everything, solely on their defenses. One must have a backup plan, should the defenses ever fail." Her thoughts drifted back on her defeated foes, the Ban Tribe and the Northern Tribes, and how she had easily overcome their defenses, which allowed her army to defeat them and violate their home and people afterwards. The General's lips curled into a sadistic smile "Believe me. I've met plenty of fools, who didn't take the necessary precautions. And, from what I'm seeing so far, We seem to be dealing with a tactical genius who knows what they're doing."

 **Outskirts to the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Within the Cheyenne Dropship, Ripley suddenly sneezes "Achoo!" Beside her, Najenda gave a look of concern "You alright, Ripley? You're not coming down with something, are you?" The former Warrant Officer starter wiping her nose with the sleeve of her jacket. "I don't know." she responded "Perhaps, some of that dust from outside blew in, when we opened that ramp for the others to disembark."

Newt walks up and tugs on Ripley's jacket. When the latter looked down, the little girl presented a bottle of cold medicine for Ripley to take. She gives Newt an appreciative smile and accepts the offer "Thanks, Sweetie."

Over at the control console, Bishop calls out and announces "Hicks, Akame, and Lubbock have arrived. Lowering the Ramp, now." Susanoo and Najenda stood by, while the Dropship's loading ramp started thrumming and whining as it lowered open to allow two assassins and a marine to enter.

Hicks walks up the loading ramp, with Akame and Lubbock at his sides. When all three of them came inside the Dropship, Bishop quickly engaged the controls and closed the ramp back up.

Hicks took a quick look around, and realized something was amiss. "Where's Tatsumi and Mine?" he asked. Ripley sets aside her bottle of cold medicine and reciprocated that question "They didn't come back with you?" The Corporal shakes his head, and Lubbock shrugs beside him "We haven't seen either of them, on our way back." Akame shakes her head as well, to affirm they're claims.

Najenda dons a look of concern, and turns to Bishop "Bring up Tatsumi's and Mine's location. Let's see where they can possibly be, right now." The synthetic Android nods and turned to his computers, as he began locking in on Mine and Tatsumi's Locator signals, using the control console.

A minute goes by, and two signal blips appear on screen for all to see

"There they are…" Bishop announced "Computer tracking shows them holding position, just a few klicks outside the city's southeastern border."

Everyone gathered around the computer screen, to look at their two missing Comrades' location. A pair of signal blips showed on screen, along with an overlaying map of the city's outlying area. They were about halfway between the Dropship, and site where Suzuka was defeated. And, just like Bishop had described, the signals weren't moving.

"Get Mine on the coms. Someone ask her, why she and Tatsumi have stop moving?" demanded Ripley. Najenda hastily spoke into the mic of her headset ("Mine? What's going on? Why aren't you and Tatsumi heading back to the Dropship, as ordered?") A low wave of white noise hissed over the PA speakers, as Bishop worked the audio controls to help boost the radio signal.

Finally, a distant sound of someone talking can be heard through the static. The faded voice was Tatsumi's. He was speaking urgently (" _they're…going…to see us…have to...deactivate Incursio_.") A moment after Tatsumi stopped speaking, another's voice can be heard (" _greetings…we meet again…_ ")

"That's Tatsumi." Akame concluded. Beside her, Lubbock agrees "Yeah. But who is he talking to?" Hicks raised a finger to his lips, and shushes them. Meanwhile, Bishop continues working the control console to get a better signal and a cleaner voice audio output.

(The voices finally came clearly from the PA speakers, and Everyone can clearly hear Tatsumi's conversation with the other person "It's you again. The Lord of the Path of Peace" In response, an elegant voice spoke out "I apologize for impeding your journey, but do you mind if we talk for a bit? Seeing each other once more, is quite a chance encounter. Who knows when our paths may cross again?")

("I wouldn't know."Tatsumi explained "We're just travelers, exploring these ruins for buried treasure." The Lord then replies "Oh, that's fine. I'm not trying to investigate you, or anything like that.")

(A sigh of relief can be heard coming from Mine. Then Tatsumi can be heard speaking some more "Well, the Path of Peace is quite influential around these parts. And, as I recall, you're it's founder. Am I right?" The Lord can be heard explaining "Yes, that's right. Ever since I was born, I had mysterious powers to heal people's wounds and see prophetic dreams. As I kept healing and prophesying, more and more people gathered around me, and proclaimed me as a man of miracles. By those same people, the Path of Peace was created and became what it is today.")

(Tatsumi began to speak again, with hesitation "Uh…Um. About those people that serve you. Do you sense anything around them, with those mysterious powers of yours? For example…Evil?" Through the enhanced signal of the radio transmission, Mine can be heard growling in a low voice "Idiot! That was way too obvious…")

(Several seconds passed by, and the Lord responded "Hahaha…There is no such thing as a human without Evil." Tatsumi then followed up with another question "What about animals? Is it possible for other creatures to be naturally Evil, and harbor Darkness?" The Lord answered promptly "Far from it. All animals, including Danger Beasts, are simply perpetuators of the endless cycle we call, Life. No creature that walks this earth, can ever harbor such negative things as Evil and Darkness. They are perhaps the most purest forms of life in this World, to which Nature can never dictate otherwise. But, man is different. We are the only Species in this entire cosmos, that has something that sets Us apart from other creatures. And that's Choice. We can choose whether or not to follow Darkness and commit Evil, or to accept the Light and do some Good for the sake of others. While it is true, that I sense a deep-seated Evil from some of the religion's leaders. When you're in charge of an organization as large as this, you sometimes have to make difficult decisions. If I was still by myself, I would only be able to save those right in front of me. But now we've come this far, thanks to those who provided the infrastructure we needed. Which is why I've chosen to believe in my fellow leaders.")

"Damned Fool…" Hicks muttered. Next to him, Ripley does the same "He has no idea, how much of a piece of shit, Borick actually is…"

Bishop concurs in a factual tone "He's far too trusting. If he carries on like this with Imperial Spies lurking about, it would only be a matter of time before someone like Borick comes and eliminates him, and then take his place as the religion's new lord."

Akame places a hand on Murasame's hilt "We have to hurry up and eliminate Borick. If the Lord won't clean out the filth in his organization, then We'll just have to do it for him." Lubbock nods, and grins "He should count his blessings, that Night Raid is looking out for him. If we can get rid of guys like Borick, and replace with Revolutionary Sympathizers, We could then have Our uprising back on track."

Najenda nods, as she takes out another cigarette from her pocket, and began to smoke it. She takes a puff, before speaking "This Lord sounds like a good person, but let's not mix up Our priorities. We're here to start a revolution. And we can't afford to go out of Our way to save each and every person who may be in the Empires crosshairs. If we act rash at this point, we may end up crossing paths with Esdeath and the Jaegers when we're not ready."

Hicks made a scowl "What will it take, for Us to be ready to take on Esdeath?" Najenda held her chin in thought "…Fifty thousand elite soldiers, and ten Imperial Arms users, including Akame." The Corporal went silent. Beside him, Ripley was in disbelief "That many, for just one person!? Is she really that powerful?" Night Raid's leader gave an affirmative nod "She and the Great General Budo are on a completely different level." She held up her prosthetic arm and hand, then tapped her eyepatch "It was just shear luck, that I as an Imperial Arms user, had faced Esdeath head to head, and come away with my body receiving this amount of damage."

Najenda then gave Hicks, Ripley, Bishop, and even Newt a serious, near urgent look "Esdeath is as unpredictable, as she is strong and ruthless. Don't underestimate her, or it will be the last mistake you make." She looks down at her prosthetic arm again "I thought that as long as I can outsmart her, I can beat her. But, I've learned much to my everlasting regret, that she's much sharper than you would think. Trying to outthink her isn't enough. You need more than that." Her gaze drifted to the Pulse-Rifle held in her left arm "When fighting Esdeath, the Jaegers, or any Imperial Arms users for that matter, always use what little advantage you have."

Hicks looked at Akame and Lubbock, and they both gave him concurring nods. Ripley was idly stroking Newt's blonde hair, while pondering Najenda's words. Susanoo was going over the Ship's external monitors. And Bishop had started making adjustments to computer instruments.

(The PA speakers sounded again, as the Lord spoke up "By the way, it seems you two are getting along better than the last time we've met." Neither Tatsumi or Mine uttered a response, so the Lord continued "You say, you both are treasure hunters? I'd say the real treasure, are the moments you have together. Cherish each other, and the time you spend together. You two are very blessed indeed.")

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

In low hum, a sliding door retracted open as Run carefully pressed a switch near the doors opening. Considering the mishaps with the complicated interior of the Colony buildings and close call they had with the Creatures lurking down in the sub-basement, every Jaeger including their leader, had decided not to disturb the blockade and the risk setting off another possible trap. Quiet nods were made all around, as Everyone agreed to make a detour.

The Jaegers filed past the door, one at a time with a Grand Chariot armored Wave going first, Koro second, Seryu third, Kurome fourth, Run fifth, and Esdeath last. As they spread out afterwards, Everyone took a moment to observe the spacious room. Operating tables, gurneys, surgical instruments, and medicine cabinets occupied a vast majority of the area, owning up to the room's fairly obvious nature and purpose.

"This place looks like an infirmary. It's most likely where the Colonists come, to treat their sick and wounded." surmised Run "It seems like We've entered the second level of Medical building, according to that directory back near the stairs." Wave turned to the General's Aide, and spoke from within Grand Chariot's helmet "Medical is situated right next to Operations. That's what the signs stamped along the building exteriors, indicate. Perhaps, we can find a roundabout way of reaching the Control Room?" Esdeath walks up to them and spoke "Everybody, spread out! Let's find a way through this area." All of her Subordinates fanned out, and began searching for a way through to Operations.

Kurome ventured along the walls to the side of the room, looking for anything that may lead to a way forward. What she found so far, was a door that leads into a smaller room that had its windows smashed apart. Inside the smaller room, was an overturned hospital bed leaning against a distant corner. In other parts of the room, there were overturned instruments and chairs, which indicates some sort of struggle. And on one side of the room, there were two bullet-riddled bodies of those small Facehugger Creatures.

Akame's Younger Sister stiffed up tense and alert, then she started to cautiously back away. She went back a handful of steps, before backing into someone. Kurome startled, as she looked behind herself to see Esdeath standing behind her. The blue haired General threw her Subordinate a questioning glare, and the teenage assassin quietly pointed towards the dead Facehuggers.

Esdeath stepped around Kurome, and ventured into the room. She observed the toppled bed, the smashed windows, and the small corpses of the Creatures.

"Interesting…" Esdeath's close observation of the scene gave her an idea of what happened. "Those small Things were in here." she explained "They attacked whoever was resting on that bed, but They were intercepted and thrown over there." She indicated the room's far wall, and made a shooting gesture. Tiny shards of ice manifested from thin air, and darted into the dead Facehugging Creatures.

Kurome walked up behind her Commander. "I don't see any eggs. Where could They have come from?" she asked. Her foot brushed against something, and Akame's Younger Sister looked down to see a jar-like object laying on the floor with its top opened. Another one lay nearby with its lid also open. "What's this?" both cylindrical objects remind Kurome of Seryu's culture tank for reviving Koro.

"Over here." Run stood at the entrance to a small lab, and was calling Everyone over. Esdeath and Kurome exited the small room, and headed towards him. Wave was already there staring closely at several more glass culture tanks, from within Grand Chariot's helmet.

Inside most of the glass tanks, were more Facehugging Creatures floating suspended in a clear viscous liquid.

"Careful, Wave." Kurome warned, as she approached the black armored sailor. Wave held up an armored hand for silence, and softly tapped the side of the closest tank with his other. The Facehugger didn't react or move at all. It was dead.

"It's alright." Run declared, upon stepping into the lab, and observing some of the Specimens "If these little Creatures wanted to get loose, They'd be out already." He indicates Their motionless bodies, as he rapped his knuckles against several tanks "Judging by Their pale coloration and unresponsiveness to external stimuli, it's possible these Creatures may have already been…Spent."

Wave continued to stare. Behind Grand Chariot's faceplate, he was making a thoroughly disgusted expression. Kurome stood beside him, with her hand placed on her chest while quietly shuddering to the fact that these Things had already impregnated Their victims with Their abominable young. Kurome hurriedly reach into her bag, and began eating some of her sweets.

Esdeath placed her hand on one of the tanks and froze it with ice. She frowned, after seeing the Creature within remained intact as the ice cracked around It. "What were the Colonists doing with these Parasites?" the Jaegers' leader wondered out loud. Run made a curious glance all around the compact laboratory.

"Studying Them, most likely." Run speculated. He began pointing at various desks and instruments "I'm no Dr. Stylish, but judging from this kind of equipment, I'd say that those who ran the place, had this small lab set up to observe any captured specimens." The General's Aide looked down, and noticed several sheets of paper lying on the floor in front of him. He crouched and picked up a handful, then walked over to a nearby lamp. Most of the papers' contents were detailed medical charts and technical readouts that were beyond the knowledgeable Jaeger's understanding, except for a written report on the next page.

"Surgically removed, before Embryo implantation." Run read out loud, for those around him to hear "Subject: Marachuk, John J. died, during the procedure…" he looks up to see Esdeath, Wave, and Kurome listening intently. "They killed him, taking It off." Run explained conclusively.

Esdeath stared, then made a menacing grin "Lethal in defeat, as well as when carrying out Its purpose. It made sure Its enemies never got their way, if they tried to subdue It."

"Hey!" all eyes turned to look at Seryu, as she called out to her fellow Jaegers, from outside the small laboratory. "Koro and I may have found a way through." she beckoned for Everyone to follow her.

Seryu led the Jaegers passed a row of shelves, towards another door in the far corner of the Medical facility. "There were no other doors nearby, and it looks like someone engaged a bolt and locked it from this side." explained the amber eyed murderess. Run studied the door very briefly "The colonists must have locked this door, to keep the Creatures from following, as they made their getaway through Medical." Esdeath held her rapier steadily "Prepare yourselves. We don't know what's on the other side."

When Everyone was gathered and ready, Run undid the lock, and pressed a switch. The door slid open and revealed a small junction area. The small square-shaped room had a medium-sized opening that led into a ventilation duct. A protective grating lay next to the exposed duct opening. And on the adjacent side of the junction, was another passage with its door completely smashed off its slide rails, and left crumpled against the opposite wall.

"Is sheer firepower the only means of keeping those Serpents at bay?" Wave asked "Is there nothing else that can hold Them back?" None of the other Jaegers answered that question, as the cautiously filed into the small junction chamber. The other doorway led into another large room, but the room itself was poorly lit. Save for a few rays of daylight trickling in from somewhere, there were no other working lights source.

This time, Esdeath took point, as stepped ahead of her Subordinates, and conjured a large shield of ice. With her ice shield held in front, she slowly walked forward into the gloom. Wave trekked behind the blue haired woman, with Kurome, Run, Seryu, and Koro following after.

As the Jaegers entered the large and dim room, they found themselves walking alongside a large rectangular construct which was effectively blocking of the view of the rest of the area. Esdeath walked past the obstacle and out of the isolated corner. When she got the full view of the dark room, she signaled her Subordinates that the area is clear.

Everyone gathered around Esdeath's position, and made a broad observation of their surroundings. Much of the room was still too dark to see. Only a small portion was illuminated by small rays of light filtering in from outside the building through a damaged, shuttered window panel at a corner of the room.

Wave immediately walked over to the shutters, and began prying them open. "Koro! Remove." Seryu pointed to the shutters near the black armored sailor, and the biological Imperial Arm obeyed her instructions. Koro grew to medium size and sprouted large arm, before tearing away at the closed window shutters.

In no time, Wave and Koro managed to remove the metal panels of the windows, and daylight shined brilliantly through the opened windows.

With the large room properly lit, the Jaeger began studying the room interior. It was completely wrecked. All sorts of computer systems and control panels were blown apart by some variety of explosives and small arms fire. Accompanying the shattered remnants, were more dead bodies of Aliens.

"We are we, now? And what happened here?" Wave spoke through Grand Chariot's faceplate. Run keenly scanned the entire room for anything that might clue them in about their current location. "This might be Operations' Control Room." he surmised "It's the right relative distance from the barricade, and most of the equipment I see here look like they were meant for visual monitoring and computer data readouts." He gestured towards a cluster of video screens fastened along a latticework of overhanging mounts. Most of the monitors were blasted apart, and the remaining few had cracked screens.

At the far side of the Control Room, Seryu walked over to the only other door leading out. When she tried a switch, the door refused to open. With a scowl, she tried to force the door open by herself "Hngh! It won't budge!" Esdeath walked up beside her and found the problem "The seams are melted together, forming a block, and effectively sealing the passage." The General's auburn haired Subordinate fidgeted "What could burn hot enough, to melt this kind of metal?"

"Not burned. Welded." corrected Run. All eyes turned towards him, as he begins to explain "A few smiths and masons in the Empire, were working on this theory, that if a single point of superheated fire can be formed and applied to unheated metal, the metal itself would be cut apart or fused with other pieces of metal." Everyone glanced back at the welded doors.

"The Colonists' advanced technology must have done that…" Kurome commented. She looks down, and notices an object next to her foot. The teenage assassin pick up the object and looked closely. It was small, blocky, and had a tiny glass lens on the front. Behind it, there was an input jack. Akame's Younger Sister handed the compact recording device over to Run, in the hopes the General's Aide may figure out if it's a clue or not.

Wave approached the welded door, and brought an armored fist against it in a dull _Clunk!_ "Pretty solid. They must have sealed the door as extra measures to keep the Serpents out." Seryu was skeptical "What's the point? The Evil Creatures still managed to find Their way in here."

"Seryu's right." concurred Esdeath. She then points to the ceiling, and revealed a multitude of gaps torn along several patches of the ceiling's grated panels "That's how They got in. They infiltrated the partition between the ceiling and the roof, dropped right down on top of them, and ambushed them from above." The Jaegers' leader then made an amused smile "These people made their last stand here, before they tried to get away." Her Subordinates glared back towards the isolated junction room leading into Medical.

"So, where did they go!?" Wave asked impatiently. Esdeath just shrugged, and turned to her Aide "Run. Is there anything useful, you can salvage from this place?"

"Give me a moment, Ma'am." replied Run as he pocketed the device Kurome gave to him, and searched around the area looking for something in particular.

"There…" Run spotted a series of cable extensions and input jacks along the same rectangular block that had sat by the back exit door. He approached the large object, grabbed a cable extension, and jacked the connection into the Portable Terminal.

A set of words appeared on the Terminal's screen "NEGOTIATING WITH HOST. PLEASE WAIT…HOST IDENTIFIED AS VISUAL DATA ARCHIVES. DO YOU WISH TO SEE RECENT DATA?" Run turns to face his fellow Comrades "Visual Data. Maybe it can show previously recorded events?" Esdeath gave him an encouraging nod to proceed. The General's Aide then began typing on the Portable Terminal's keyboard "PLEASE SHOW MOST RECENTLY VIEWED AND UPLOADED DATA." The words on the screen made a response "STANDY BY…"

Another message scrolled across the Terminal's display screen. "UPLOADING PREVIOUSLY ACCESSED VISUAL RECORDING. PLEASE STAND BY…"

All of the Jaegers gathered around to see what the Portable Terminal was going to do. The screen display changes, and began showing a video.

("They see a man in a hardhat and construction foreman's suit, standing before a row of window shutters that happen to be the same ones inside Operations. "Greetings fellow associates of Weyland-Yutani. And hello to all who are seeing this from Earth." the man spoke in a cordial yet jubilant manner "My name is Curtis Hadley, and I am pleased to report the Terraforming Colony of Planet LV-426 has been completed. The last construction efforts to the Atmosphere Processor finished about a week ago. And it was only 8 hours since the Processing Facility has been commissioned and brought online." Curtis Hadley stepped back near the window shutters behind him, and pressed a nearby switch. The shutters slid open to display a window view of the outside.")

("It was dark. And the gloomy view displayed a completely different world. Barren and unstable rock formations littered the surrounding landscape, all around the Colony proper Hard winds blew ashy soil and dust all around the outside terrain, and random flashes of lightning would strike the skies. With the shutters now retracted, the sound of raging winds and thunderclaps became quite audible, along with low droning _Hum_ of some type of machine. "Listen to that baby purr." Curtis Hadley held up a hand, and pointed it out to a distant object within the stormy atmosphere. It was a massively large conical building, with a rimmed top emitting hazy stacks of boiling air, and a slightly glowing broad base. "The Processing Station is currently operating at nominal capacity. Despite LV-426's slightly unstable nature, much of the base elements are in abundance. The Processor need only break down the unnecessary components, and then release the cleaned and refined product back into the environment." the man continued to speak "It's quite the remarkable piece of machinery. I'm confident, we'll have achieved desirable atmospheric profile sooner than originally projected." He then closed the shutters back up, and stepped away from the windows "Colonial personnel have already began to rotate in from off-planet transit. Most will be arriving from planets from the Sol System, such as Earth, Gateway Station, Luna, and even Mars and Venus. And we'll also be receiving qualified individuals and families from as far as Thedus out past the Solomons. Although, those who are shipping in from that galactic region, will have be taking a much longer time to arrive, due to extra travel precautions implemented since certain loses took place out there over the past decades" Curtis Hadley then made a formal salutary gesture "This installation will have it's complete staff, by month's end. Weyland-Yutani, Building Better Worlds." The video cuts out, leaving the Terminal screen blank.")

Every Jaeger watching the video instantly recognized the structure as the same building that Esdeath had froze from a distance, outside across from Colony Operations. They all briefly shifted their gaze towards the frozen building, as the Jaegers come to realize what the Atmosphere Processor was, and what it's purpose entailed.

"So that's the Atmosphere Processor…" Esdeath determined, after seeing the video log.

Wave followed up with a speculation "That humongous structure is what these Colonists are using to terraform whole other worlds, by changing the air composition to what they desire."

Seryu gnashed her teeth and growled "Tampering with the Empire's environment, is a capital offense! We must bring Justice to these Wicked Invaders!"

Run held up a hand. "They're not invading the Empire." he corrected "Did any of you see what was outside the Operations building, when this Curtis Hadley was giving his report? That wasn't Our world outside his windows. It was some other place entirely."

"He was referring to that place as LV-426." agreed Kurome "According to that man, LV-426 is a planet. A different place…A world beyond Our own." her Comrades all glanced upwards, as if they were trying to perceive past the ceiling, and towards the sky and stars above.

"So how did they end up here?" Wave asked "What could have happened? And Why?" Run tuned back to the Portable Terminal's display screen "Let's keep watching, and maybe we'll find out."

The Jaegers continued watching the view screen, and waited for another video to appear.

("The screen changes again, showing a different man than before. The other man had a thick build, wore a button-up shirt with long sleeves, and had a brow-beaten yet witty demeanor "Salutations, everybody. I'm Al Simpson, Colony Administrator and your host for this evening's festivities." Another man walked by from off-screen, and nearly bumped into Al. The second man was much slimmer, and wore similar attire to Al's.")

("Al Simpson gestured towards the second man "And this is my outspoken sidekick, Vice Administrator Brad Lydecker. Hey, Lydecker. Say hello to our friends and associates, back on Earth." Lydecker looked up from writing on his clipboard, adjusted his glasses, and kept on writing. "How provocative, Lydecker." Al remarked sarcastically.")

("Lydecker looked up from his clipboard once again and spoke "Oh, by the way. Al. I just got off the coms with Chester. He says, he's on his way up to see you. And he's not happy, so be ready." Al Simpson sighed in morose anticipation.")

("After a while, a third man came into view of the video screen. He wore a white lab coat, a stethoscope around his neck, and had a more sour expression than what Simpson and Lydecker were making. "Let me introduce to you, our resident surgeon Dr. Chester Ling." Al gestured to the agitated surgeon, who started to talk "Al. Be sure to remind all arriving personnel, to come straight to Medical for their mandatory physical and checkup. You know as well as I do, there are no exceptions." Al Simpson raised an eyebrow "You came all the way up here, just to remind me of standard procedure?" Dr. Ling irritably shook his head "No. Not for that. It's about Dr. Reese and the Science Team. They're still locked up in that lab of theirs, doing God knows what. My staff and I are completely swamped with all the clinical duties for the new arrivals. All members of the Science Team are qualified to work at Medical. Tell them to get their pompous asses down there and help with the work. The sooner we can take a look at everyone, the sooner they can get started with running the Colony. You know you have the authority to give them that order. Scientific study cannot interfere with the Operations of this Colony. And the Colony can't operate without sufficiently available personnel." Dr. Ling took a bow, and then left the Operations Control Room.")

(Al held his chin in thought. "Lydecker." He spoke in a somber tone "Head down to the barracks and rouse any and all Marines that are cleared for duty. Then go to the lab, and see whatever the hell the science team is working on. If they're not doing anything important, like studying some sort of alien. Then I want them in the clinic, looking at people." Lydecker began to hesitate "And if they refuse or ignore me?" Al Simpson rolled his eyes "That's what the Marines are for. If all else fails, I want those guys to escort the Science Team to Medical. Talk to Sgt. Draper. He doesn't seem to mind, and he usually knows what he's doing." Lydecker nods, and began to leave the Control Room.)

("After Lydecker's departure, a middle-aged couple with a young boy stepped into view of the video screen. The husband was a man who had a lean build, messy light brown hair, and a sly look about him. His wife had blonde hair, an inquisitive air about her, and a very noticeable bulge around her belly. The boy was approximately 3 years old and walked between his parents with both his hands held by them. "Ah! You must be the Jordens." presumed Al Simpson, as he picked up a clipboard to help identify his new acquaintances "Russ and Anne. From the Survey Division, yes?" Russ made a smug grinned and answered "We like to refer ourselves as Prospectors." Al makes a serious expression "Yes. I understand, most of you people like to moonlight as Wildcatters. And that you're a very competitive bunch." He puts down his clipboard, and leaned against a wall, while crossing his arms "Make no mistake, Mr. And Mrs. Jorden. The Company may be lax about how you Wildcatters conduct yourselves out there while running a survey expedition, as well as the questionable practices when trying to put your names on a claim. But, for as long as you live within the confines of the Colony walls, you are colonial personnel of Hadley's Hope, here on LV-426. And that being said, you will not do anything pertaining to your work, that might put the entire Colony and its people's safety at risk. Comprende?" Russ and Anne gave hesitant nods.")

("Al nods in return, and then he smiles "How far along are you, Mrs. Jorden?" Anne blissfully smiles and answers "About 6 months." Al Simpson took a quick glance at data terminal on a nearby desk. "According to the manifest, your child might be the first newborn within this Colony." he said informatively. That made Russ beam with pride and excitement. "You hear that, Timmy?" he asks his toddler son "Your new sister will be born a true extraterrestrial. She'll essentially be an alien." Anne makes a frown and pinched her husband. "That's a horrible thing to call your soon to be daughter!" she said irritably.")

("Russ then made a mischievous face "Well, it's too soon to call her a human being. At this point in time, she's resembles more like a Newt." Anne was not going to take anymore of her husband's jests. "Russell Jorden! You will cease your capricious antics, right this instant! If we're not careful, the word Newt might become a nickname to Our little Rebecca, indefinitely. And, I'm not about to have my unborn daughter's image become synonymous with that of an amphibian." Russ' grin eroded away, as he falls in line at the threat of his Wife's contempt. The video ends its current reel, and the screen goes blank again.")

Run was the first to speak "I hope that answers some of your questions, Everyone." He motioned his hands all around "These Colonists weren't invaders, or even a military outfit. They were pioneers, explorers, and prospectors, who were striking out to new territories in order to expand their civilization. They were visiting different and unstable planets or worlds, and transforming them into ideal settlements." One by one, his fellow Jaegers nodded in understanding.

Only Seryu remained unconvinced "They're still criminals, for coming here and disturbing the peace by causing destruction to this Valley. So many Imperial lives have been lost, while trying to investigate the Colony's recent appearance!"

Wave quickly deigned to argue "We don't even know how they came here. Difficult as it may be to believe, but it was already established that this place, Hadley's Hope was originally constructed upon some planet different from Ours." Kurome then spoke up "So, the questions We should be asking, is How this place came to be here, and Why?"

Esdeath raised her hands to gather her Subordinates' attention "Let's keep observing the visual data, and see if We come across more answers."

Every Jaeger shifted his/her attention back at the Terminal view screen, as another video began to show.

("They see Al Simpson again who was looking more disheveled than before. "To those of you back on Earth and on Gateway Station, you should know by now who I am. As Colony Administrator, I'm am vested with certain authorities in regards to the operations of this installation. Over the years, I have turned a blind eye to the cloak and dagger proceedings to which your associates have been conducting with some of our personnel here. Now I'm not naming names as of yet, but I am pointing out certain events that are happening behind my back. Like the Science Team taking liberties with instructing our Colony Surveyors into venturing out to uncharted and potentially dangerous regions of the Planet's surface. Or having our local garrison of Colonial Marines deployed as escort detail for those Wildcatters. As of this day, that all ends. I am no longer condoning any random survey expeditions on behalf of some suit sitting behind a desk in some fancy office. From now on, all survey grid references has to go through me or Captain Brackett of the Colonial Marines. If you don't like that, then you can take it up with Colonial Administration or come out here yourselves if you want to go snooping around some tectonic shifts and shredding storms." A beeping ringtone sounded off, and Al donned a communications headset. Using one hand, he pressed the earpiece closer and spoke into the mic "Yeah, I'll be heading down there right now. Keep me posted, and let me know when he's brought them back. Also, have Dr. Reese meet me in my office. If he refuses, that's fine. I'll no longer protect him from Brackett or Drapers, and throw him to the wolves as soon as they get back." Al removes the headset and stepped towards a computer terminal "That's all I have to say in this report. Now, please excuse me while I go clean up after one of your associate's mess. And God help you all, if anything happens to the Jorden couple and their kids." With a fume, he hits a switch, and the video cuts out.")

"Sounds like, something's happened to that merry couple Russ and Anne Jorden." Wave commented. Kurome started to have a bad feeling "It didn't sound too good. They must have found themselves in a dangerous situation." Esdeath held her chin in thought "According to what that Al Simpson was talking about, it seems like the Jordens were following some sort of orders or instructions. Someone from Weyland-Yutani wanted them to go out there, for a reason." Seryu makes an angry scowl "Who would manipulate people's lives like that? And for what reason?" Run shakes his head "I don't know. Let's keep watching…"

Everyone ceased talking and resumed watching the screen.

("They see Lydecker frantically typing in commands on a nearby keyboard "This is Brad Lydecker, Administrator's Assistant of the LV-426 Terraforming Installation! I'm calling in an official mayday, and a request for rescue! Some of our survey teams ventured to investigate the Jorden family's last known location. Something came back with them, and now It has gotten loose inside the Colony. We do not know exactly what It is, but It is extremely hostile, deadly, and there are more than one of Them. Some of our people have already perished because of Them. And others have disappeared. The remaining personnel are on the verge of panic, and our higher-ups are busy undermining each other. Dr. Reese and his Science Team haven't been at all helpful towards our situation. Sgt. Draper and about half of the Marines have gone off to try and hunt these Creatures, but all contact was lost shortly after. Their last call-in was at the Atmosphere Processor. Captain Brackett, Al Simpson, and a company of volunteers are forming a search party, to go look for the missing personnel. The rest of us are going to barricade ourselves here at Operations and at Medical, and await the others' return. Please send help, as soon as possible! People are dying out here!" _Kaboom!_ A distance explosion sounded away from view.")

("Lydecker looks up in a panic "What the Hell, was that!?" Somewhere off-screen, a person answered him "One of the Seismic Survey Charges. We've rigged a few along some of the corridors, in order to slow those Bastards down. One of those Them must have tripped a couple." Lydecker growled in frustration "Watch where you set up those damned bombs! There's vital hardwiring between here and the Communications Uplink. If the transmitter goes offline, we'll never be able to call for help." He continued typing on his keyboard, as another person spoke up "That one sounded rather close to us. We should hurry up and join the others at Medical. We're out of time!" Lydecker nods and threw a few more switches. The last switch ended the recording.")

Wave started to feel a sense of foreboding, for some reason "There's something terribly familiar about the Colonists' situation." Run turned to him, and spoke "It sounds like they found Something out there, on one of the survey team's expeditions. Whatever It was, they must've brought It back, and now It's ran amok inside Hadley's Hope." Kurome began to clutch her shoulders "I think, I've seen enough. How many more like this, are left?" Esdeath gestured at Run, and the General's Aide takes a closer look at the Terminal's screen. "There's just a few more data files left, for Us to see." he informed, and Akame's Younger Sister nodded and waited for the next video to start.

("The view screen changes once more, and shows Anne Jorden sitting in front of it. Her hair and clothes were a mess, and her eyes are red and moist. She had recently, been weeping. "You Goddamned Sons of Bitches!" Anne growled angrily "You knew It was out there, didn't You!? You knew, and You didn't bother to warn us! Why didn't You warn us about Them!? Was That what You wanted all along!? To have those Things brought here!?" she started to break down into a grieving fit.")

("Shortly after she managed to regain her composer, Anne Jorden continued to speak "Russ is…My husband is dead, and so will our children along with everyone else on this Fucking Barren Shithole of a Planet. I just want you to know, their deaths are on You. Their Blood are on Your hands. Murdered by You all, as well by those Monsters from a Hell beyond Hells. Those Aliens." A hand reaches out from view, and grasped Anne by her shoulder. A startled Anne looked up in shock, but quickly relaxed when she saw it was another woman who grabbed her.")

("Somewhere off-screen, screeching metal and gunshots can be heard. "Anne, what are you doing!?" the other woman asked "Those Things are just outside the barricade! We're falling back, and heading down to Maintenance. The doors down there are stronger and thicker. We can hold out there and wait for help to come." Anne reluctantly nods "Alright, Mary. I'm coming. Where are my children?" Mary indicated something out of view "Your son and daughter are waiting for you in the corridor. The others are going to try and hold off those Things, while we find a secure room. Hurry!" Both women rushed out of the Control Room, leaving the video to go on recording for several more minutes before shutting off.")

This time, Esdeath is the first to speak "Did all of you hear what Anne was talking about?" She got affirmative nods all around.

"She mentioned that word, Alien." Seryu remarked. Wave shook his helmeted head "Anne said Aliens. It's in plural. Meaning there's more than One of Them running loose." He turns to Run "It's the same word, that described Xenomorph, the name of whatever that Corporal Hicks was searching for." Run makes a nod "Alien must be a generalized term, to that which had been attacking the Colonists in Hadley's Hope."

Kurome was almost afraid to ask "But what do these Aliens look like? And where did They and the Colonists go? And how did Hadley's Hope and the Atmosphere Processor come to be in this World?"

("The Terminal screen reactivates, and another video began to show. The Jaegers see an image of a little girl of approximately 6 or 7 years of age, quietly tiptoeing in front of the view screen. The child had messy blonde hair which completely obscured her face from the view of the camera, a box of food packets in one hand, and a doll's head in the other hand. The little girl reach along a side panel along a far wall, and began prying out a protective grill of a small ventilation shaft. As the girl continued to pry open the vent, her head cocked to one side, and she cleared her dirty hair away from an ear to listen for something off-screen. Suddenly, she began to furiously pull the grill away from its grooved recesses. The grill managed to come away, and the ventilation duct popped open. Without wasting a heartbeat, the little girl flung her box of food, and her doll's head into the shaft, before crawling into the duct herself. She grabbed the grated ventilation cover and quickly swung it closed.")

("Less than a minute passed by, then Something else wandered into view, and stalked across the screen in an all-black exoskeleton. It stood on two clawed feet in a hunched posture, had a pair of clawed hands, a long bladed tail, four tubes jutting in pairs along Its back, and an elongated head. Its face had no eyes, nose, or ears, only a mouth with very thin lips which would occasionally flare open and reveal sharp silvery teeth. Despite lacking any visual means of sensing Its surroundings, the Creature would sway It head side to side, as if searching for whatever might be near. Finally, when there was nothing moving within Its vicinity, the Creature parts Its mouth wide open, and slowly eased a secondary set of jaws out from out Its primary mouth. The inner jaw would snap at thin air with its own set of sharp teeth, and then slowly retract back into the Creature's main jaw.")

("About several minutes have gone by, until the Creature finally decided to wander off somewhere else, and It left the control room empty and undisturbed. Nothing else appeared on the screen, as the video finished its recording loop.")

"It's a Serpent!" Seryu realized "What are the Serpents doing in that Colony!?" Wave continued to stare at the Portable Terminal screen. He made a horrified look from behind Grand Chariot's faceplate "What the Hell is going on here!?" Run calmly stood beside him "Isn't it obvious? The Serpent Creatures that We've encountered, and the Aliens that have terrorized the Colonists, are One and the Same. We've been fighting the very same Xenomorphs that Corporal Hicks and his team of Colonial Marines were hunting for."

Kurome made an involuntary shudder "All this time, the Jaegers have been battling a Monster Species from another World." Her gaze drifted towards the gaping window shutters and to the land outside "The Empire, The Rebels, every Tribe and Nation on this planet…" she thinks back on all the Imperial Soldiers of the Expeditionary Force that had perished at the hands of the Xenomorphs "The Aliens are going to come after Us All." she hauntingly declared.

Seryu made a twisted face and growled "Not if I have anything to say about that! Justice will always win against the forces of Evil, no matter what planet or world the Evil had originated from!"

Run was pondering something "Who was that little girl?" Esdeath turned to him, and replied "A survivor, by the looks of it. She must have been using the Colony ventilation system to avoid being captured by the Aliens." She dons a smirk "Pretty clever of her, to go into places those Things can't fit"

Wave nods in agreement "She could be anywhere, at the point." He then addresses his Commander "Should we mount a search, and try looking for her?" Esdeath slowly shakes her head "The girl is of no concern to Us." she explains coldly "Our mission is to determine the truth behind the events, that led to bringing this Colony and the Aliens into Our World. And Our time is better spent combing through the Colony Archives, and not hunting for some filthy brat who's probably dead by now."

Kurome's thoughts lingered back to that doll's head she found in the sewers. It was the very same piece, that the little girl in the video was holding. She closed her eyes, and tried to shut out the question of how that toy found its way down there.

Wave was about to protest his misgivings, but Esdeath had already shifted her attention back to the Portable Terminal's display screen, indicating that the matter was closed and not up for debate.

("Another video began its playback, and the screen shows a new face than the ones previously seen. It was another man, who wore green combat fatigues, had a nearly shaved head, a no-nonsense attitude, and a formal air about him. "This is Lieutenant Scott Gorman of the United States Colonial Marines, 2nd Battalion Bravo Team. My squad and I have been dispatched, to investigate the loss of communication with the terraforming installation on LV-426. Standard operating procedures dictate, that we update the Colony logs with a video document of our progress." Gorman took a moment to compile his thoughts.")

("When the Lieutenant was ready, he began to speak "On July 27 2179 at approximately 0700 hours, our ship had arrived and entered orbit around LV-426. Our drop onto the surface was successful, and squad deployment followed soon after." Gorman waited shortly to take a breath, then he continued "Preliminary sweeps of the Colony proper yielded no results, as all of the facilities seem abandoned. There has been evidence of a struggle, and it's been speculated that a Xenomorph may have been involved in the state of recent events which led to the Colony's loss of communication. And so far, with the exception of one, there has been no sign of any of the missing Colonists, or any indication to where they may have gone-" Somewhere close by, another man's voice can be heard calling out "Yo! Stop your grinning, and drop your linen! I found them!" Gorman turned away from the view screen, and rushed over to where the other man's voice originated.")

("Only Gorman's back can be seen, as the Lieutenant began to converse with the man who called for him off-screen. "Are they alive?" Gorman asked. The other person reluctantly answered "Don't know. But, it looks like all of them. They're over at the Processing Station…Sub-Level 03…right under the Main Cooling Towers." All of the Jaegers instantly recognized Hicks' voice, as the Corporal spoke up from within the video "It looks like a Goddamned town meeting…" Gorman began talking again, and addressed someone else "Let's saddle up, Apone." Somewhere close by, a gruff voice sounded out "Aye, Sir." A brief pause followed, as bodies began to move and shuffle off somewhere.")

("Apone's voice sounded out once more, as he began issuing orders to those around him "Alright! Let's go, People! They ain't paying us by the hour, so let's go. Head'em out! Okay, Frost, you're driving…" A couple of minutes passed, as sounds of marching and movement grew distant, before the video finished its playback.")

Seryu started to fidget "Processing Station? Sub-Level 03? Does anyone know what any of that means?" Run looked out the gaping window and answered "It's the Atmosphere Processor. That's where the Colonial Marines think the Colonists were located." He points out to the enormous conical structure in the distance "Hicks' team must have headed over there, and went down 3 levels beneath the surface of that building, in search of the missing Colonists."

Wave joined in gazing out the window towards the Atmosphere Processor "I wonder how their search turned out?" Kurome stood beside him, and stared at her weapons "Nothing good, if the state of this Colony was the end result…"

Back over at the jacked-in Portable Terminal, Esdeath called her Subordinates back "Everyone, come quick! There's one more video."

The Jaegers reconvened at the Portable Terminal, to watch the next video pulled from archives.

("The video shows Corporal Hicks in front of the view screen. His expression was grim and his tone of voice was tired and daunted "This is Corporal Dwayne Hicks, of the United States Colonial Marines, 2nd Battalion Bravo Team. I am recording this message, as an update of the current situation within the Colony on LV-426. The mission is a failure. The Xenomorphs have completely overran the Installation and associated Facilities. All Colony personnel are confirmed deceased, save for a sole survivor. My squad has experienced multiple casualties, with only four Marines including myself, remaining. The only other individuals still alive, are one synthetic Executive Officer, one Weyland-Yutani Corporate Liaison, and one Mission Consultant-" Suddenly, a woman's voice can be heard screaming from a distance "These People are DEAD, Burke! Don't You Have any Idea, of What You've Done Here!?" Hicks quickly fumbled at the Terminal controls, and adjusted the audio input, to filter out the noise.")

("When the Corporal finally finished making the necessary audio adjustments, an alarm sounded off throughout the entire complex. Hicks immediately stepped away from the console, and attended to a separate one nearby. Somewhere close by, the voice of the same man who spoke to Lieutenant Gorman about the Colonists' location, called out and asked "What is it? What's going on?" The person ran in front of the view screen, and revealed himself to be none other than Hudson.")

("Hicks promptly shuts off the alarm and answered "They're coming." Hudson then asked "Where?", and Hicks specified "In the tunnel…" Someone else pressed a button, and the video came to an end.")

Run looked over the list of log files within the Portable Terminal's display screen "That was the last recording, left available." He typed in a command on the Terminal keyboard "IS THERE ANY MORE AVAILABLE DATA?" The computer deliberated for several seconds. Then, a written message began to scroll across the display screen:

DIRECTIVE 061279

DIRECTED BY: BURKE, CARTER J.

RECIPIENT: DR. REESE, BARTHOLOMEW

…

NEW INFORMATION ACQUIRED, REGARDING COMPANY INTERESTS.

...

SURVEY TEAM IS HEREBY INSTRUCTED TO INVESTIGATE FOLLOWING COORDINATES, IN PURSUIT OF PROSPECTIVE LEADS TO SUBJECT'S LOCATION.

...

END OF TRANSMISSION.

"Interesting…" commented Run, as he gleaned the written information from the Portable Terminal. "What's it say, Run?" asked Wave. The General's Aide looked up, and addressed his Comrades "Looks like orders and directions, for someone to head to a certain location." Kurome was curious "Directions to where? What location?"

Run looked over the information once more, and shakes his head "I can't make sense of these coordinates. They don't match this land's cartography. The longitude and latitude are too small and close in proximity." Seryu began to grow impatient "Can't you use a formula, to convert it?" Run shakes his head again "No, I can't. It would be impossible to calculate, without any sort of reference point."

Esdeath called for all her Subordinates' attention "None of that matters. We got enough adequate information to determine the answers to Our previous questions. Hadley's Hope, the Aliens, and The Colonial Marines, it's all tied together. They all come from a different World on a different planet. And, for reasons unknown, they suddenly appeared in this World, and could be anywhere right now." She smiled menacingly "But, We now have several leads to get more information regarding their sudden appearance." The blue haired General indicated the device Kurome found "We'll have a look at this object, to see if it has anything useful. Then, we'll setup camp in the forest outside the borders of the Valley. Finally, at Our first opportunity, we'll search the Atmosphere Processor."

The Jaegers all nodded at their leader, and Run uncoupled the connection cable from the Colony Archives. He then took the input cord from the device Kurome found, and jacked it into the corresponding port in the Portable Terminal.

The Terminal's display screen changes once again, as another video began to play.

("The video shows a woman with close-cropped hair and wearing a bandana. The woman addressed the screen with a hardened face and a somber tone. "Carmen…" the woman began "It's Jenette. If you're seeing this message, then something must have happened to me." She pauses for a second, then continued "There's little time and a lot I wanted to say. First is, don't make the same stupid choices I have made. I know you thought I was being tough, when in fact I was just making one foolish mistake after another. Always do right be others, and live a long happy life. Second is, your big sister loves you very much, and I wished that I could have given you a better life." The message is interrupted when an alarm sounds off and Hicks' voice speaks out from the woman's headset "Hudson! Vasquez! Meet me at Med Lab. We've got a fire!" Vasquez began to run off somewhere, as the message stops recording.")

"Who was that?" asked Wave. Run removed the cord from the input jack, before answering "Must be one of Hicks' comrades. Telling from the way she ran at the Corporal's summons, it's that likely her name is Vasquez." Seryu bared her sharp teeth in pure hatred "Just another wicked sinner, confessing her misdeeds to a degenerate sibling." She then makes a nefarious smile "I hope we find her soon. So that I may kill her myself, and feed her remains to Koro. I'll do the same for that bastard Corporal Hicks!" beside her, Koro makes a vicious grin, show rows of hideously sharp teeth.

Esdeath looked at her Subordinates and spoke up "Perhaps, We can learn Hicks' whereabouts from or guest, Hudson." The Jaegers' leader then makes an insidious smile "I'll be sure to interrogate him, when We've made camp and completed our search." She turns to her Aide "Run. Is there anything else, you can dig up from this room?" Run took a quick look around the Control Room, before folding up the Portable Terminal "No. Everything else is smashed, shot, or blown up beyond repair."

Esdeath wasted no time, and began walking towards the back exit. "Come, Everyone. We're heading back outside."

One by one, the Jaegers began to file behind their leader, and make their way out of Colony Operations. Kurome pauses just outside the junction into Medical, and looked back towards the Operations Control Room. "Vasquez. Older Sister…" an image of Vasquez appeared in her mind, and she recalled the tender emotion Vasquez made when Jenette spoke her sister Carmen's name. It was the same facial expression Akame made, whenever Kurome's Older Sister would speak to her. Full of Love and Nurture.

"What's wrong Kurome? Why did you stop?" Wave spoke up from behind Akame's Younger Sister. Kurome turned around, and saw that the black armored sailor was standing behind her, waiting for her to keep moving. The teenage assassin shook her head, and resumed walking "It's was nothing, Wave. I was just wondering, where that ventilation duct back there leads to."

Wave took a quick look at the open vent hole, and shrugged "I don't know. It looks big enough for a person to fit inside…" He then gave a stern look from behind Grand Chariot's faceplate "Don't go off exploring the ventilation network, by yourself. God knows where those ducts can lead to…" Kurome frowned in irritation "Relax. I'm not going into dark places anytime soon. I promise you that."

"Hey, you two!" Esdeath called out from Medical "Pick up the pace. You're falling behind." Kurome and Wave stopped talking to each other, and began jogging to catch up with the other Jaegers.

 **Church of the Path of Peace, City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

It was dark inside the Cathedral, the only sources of light came from braziers lining the sides of a audience chamber and sunlight filtering through the many stained glass windows. Towards the center of the chamber, a man in ceremonial robes sat on a high seat with the religion's emblem hanging behind.

Before the seated man, a young woman with pale hair and wearing skimpy robes, walked into the audience chamber, and kneeled in front of him.

Borick looked down at the young acolyte, and spoke with a gracious smile on his bearded face "Congratulations. You have been chosen for the glorious position of discipleship to our Lord." The young woman's face shone with pure joy "Is that really true!? To be able to witness the miracles of our Lord, personally. It's my dream come true!"

"Miracle, huh?" Borick thought "Nobody knows, that I secretly took a blood sample of the Lord, and had it sent back to the Imperial Capital, to have Dr. Stylish conduct research on it. And we found out he's half Danger Beast, an existence that shouldn't be possible! That's explains how he has supernatural powers." Borick then chuckled insidiously "It was an incredible discovery, that even the Lord himself did not know about." The acolyte made a puzzled expression "Lord Borick?"

Borick snapped out of his notion, and directed his attention back to his current task. "However…" he began "It seems, that you still have some wickedness inside of you. Because of that, you wouldn't be able to perform your religious duties." The young woman got anxious and spoke in a worried tone "No…It can't be!"

"Remove your clothes." commanded Borick "I shall conduct a holy ceremony, to cleanse you."

"Yes…" with no hesitation, the young acolyte carefully slipped her robe off and let it fall to the floor. She then stood there in front of Borick, completely nude. "Please!" she spoke urgently.

As Borick approached the naked young woman, his thoughts drifted back to his previous scheme "Soon, I will take over this religious organization. With the knowledge I have on hand, getting rid of the current Lord should be child's play." He reaches for the acolyte's bare shoulders, and pulled her close. "I couldn't eliminate the Lord beforehand, because of those damned powers of his. But, maybe with the information the Empire has on him, we can find a means of getting around his prophetic abilities."

Borick held the young acolyte close to him. So, close that he can hear her steady breathing in his ear. He then placed a hand on the nude woman's leg "No man or beast in this World can be completely invincible. As long as you learn of their nature, and understand their strengths and weaknesses, you can find ways around their defenses. Know your target inside and out, and you will be able to destroy them easily." His hand began to slide up the young woman's thigh "With Me, as the new Lord of the Path of Peace, the Prime Minister will have total control over these foolish zealots. Until then, in my current position, I'll make the most of it-" _Stick!_ A sharp pain shot into the base of Borick's skull.

"What!?" Borick hissed in pain, and realized he couldn't move. His limbs wouldn't respond, and all senses, excluding the pain, has left his body. He is paralyzed.

Confused, and unaware of what's happening to him, Borick looked at the only person who can give him an explanation. The naked young woman in his arms, had her own arms around his shoulders, and were reaching behind his neck. She pulled back her arms, then she smiled at him "Assassination, Complete…"

A large cloud of smoke billowed forth, and engulfed the young woman's body. When it finally dissipated, a different woman remained. Her skin was fair, her robe was still on, and she had reddish brown hair flowing over her shoulders.

Borick's eyes widen, as he witness this unassuming acolyte transform into Chelsea of Night Raid using Gaea Foundation to disguise herself. "Wh-who…are…y-you-" The Prime Minister's Spy collapsed forward, and laid still. In the back of his head, a steel needle has pierced the base of his skull, and remained stuck there. Chelsea looked down, and callously spoke "I'm someone who's going to change this depraved World, by getting rid of Scum like you."

Chelsea stepped away from Borick's body, and headed towards the back of the room. She was about to reach into Gaea Foundation's compartment for another lollipop, but stopped and turned around instead.

"Leone? Is that you?" Chelsea asked aloud. From the shadows, a buxom woman with blonde hair, gold eyes, and wearing a robe that is having difficulty swathing around her large bust, stepped into view.

"Yeah, it's me." Leone answers. She completely exits the shadows, with a body slung over her shoulder. "Who's that?" inquired an anxious Chelsea. The voluptuous blonde laid the body out on the floor to give a better view. It was a man in a white formal suit and a black vest. In his hands was a strange looking scythe.

Chelsea observed the strange scythe "What's that in his hand? It that an Imperial Arm?" Leone shrugged "Don't know. I killed him, before he can use it." She then nudged the scythe with a foot "Let's leave it alone for now. The Spy Team can recover it, later." The red-headed beauty nods, and then turned to look behind the flag with the religious emblem. She spotted a trapdoor leading underground. Before Chelsea can approach the trapdoor, her golden eyed Comrade called after her.

"Where do you think, you're going?" asked Leone. Chelsea gave her Comrade a perplexed look "Borick is dead. The Mission is complete. So, now I'm just looking for an exit."

Leone walked over to Borick's body, grasped Borick's head, and twisted it 180 degrees, snapping his neck in the process. "There. Now the Mission is complete." Leone declared triumphantly.

Chelsea remained confused, borderline irritated "Why did you that? I've already killed him, so doing something like that was completely unnecessary." Leone looked up at the red-headed assassin "How can you be sure, he's dead? All you did was jab a needle in the back of his head."

This time, Chelsea was full-on irritated "I've employed the same method I've used to kill all of my previous targets. I've no reason to think he'll wind up any different." Leone started to become irritated herself "Not everybody's the same, Chelsea. You can't go on using the same skill, to eliminate your foes. There are no guarantees, that a single type of attack will work on a different person. A good warrior uses a variety of abilities, to ensure her kill is certain and thorough." The glamorous assassin began to mutter defensively "I'm an assassin, not a warrior. My kills are discreet and efficient. And, I take the fast and easy way to carry out an assignment."

The buxom blonde glared at Chelsea "We're on the brink of War! Killing someone will no longer be a walk in the park, for Us." Leone paused, and looked out the stained glass window. "You know What's out here as well as I do, Chelsea. You've seen Them yourself, and what They're capable of. Do you really think pricking Them with a needle, is enough to take an Alien down? Let alone a whole swarm of Them?"

Leone walked over to the red-headed young woman, and placed a hand on her shoulder "Every one of Us within Night Raid have pledged Our lives, to see an Old decrepit World changed into something better. But, that doesn't mean We'd have to give Our lives so recklessly. If you want to see this through to the end, you'll have to change that conservative practice of yours. Change the way you fight. Use different weapons and strategies, to balance out what you currently use. Be an active fighter, and stand beside your allies. It is much better to have backup to fall back on, than to go it alone." She then wrapped an arm around Chelsea's shoulder, pressed her forehead against her own "You're one of Us, Chelsea. You should trust and rely on Us a little more. Do you think being aloof is gonna make things any easier? The answer is no, it is not. Just because you prefer to act alone and risk your life by yourself, doesn't mean people won't be sad if anything were to happen to you. That's because, you still have friends who care for you and see you as one of their own. Like a family. Didn't you ever wanted a family, Chelsea?"

Chelsea grew silent, as she listened to Leone. When she finally spoke, the only answer she gave was a whisper "Yes…" Leone smiled and nodded "Well, you have one. And a large one at that. You have brothers, named Lubbock, Tatsumi, and Su. You also have sisters, named Najenda, Akame, and Mine. Newt is your cousin, Hicks is your uncle, and Ripley is your aunt." Chelsea then spoke up "What about you?" Leone's smile grew wider "I'm your Big Sister, who'll always look out for those she loves, including you. Understand?"

Chelsea quietly nods, and Leone releases her embrace "Good." She then scanned the room "Now, let's get out of here, and meet up with the Others. Someone's gonna find Borick's corpse, and I don't wanna be around when that happens."

"Over here. I think there's a secret passage to Borick's mansion, behind this seat." Chelsea began to pull back on the religion's emblem, until Leone grabbed her by the shoulders. "No need." she said, and then she used Lionelle to change into bestial form "We don't know what we'll find on the other side, and I'm not up for surprises today."

Leone then placed Chelsea's arm around her shoulder, and carried her up to the rafters above the Cathedral. They found a hatch along the ceiling, and went through it to wind up on the roof.

"Hold on tight." Leone instructed "I'll carry Us along the rooftops, and make for the outskirts of the city. We can hike on back to the Dropship, afterwards." With a nod, Chelsea clung onto Leone's shoulder. The bestial blonde then leapt across the roof of other buildings, with the glamorous assassin in tow.

 **Outskirts to the City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

 _Thump! Thump! Thump!_ A loud knock came from outside the Cheyenne Dropship.

Najenda listen closely to the pattern of knocks. "That's got to be Leone and Chelsea. Lower the gantry." she ordered. Hicks stood ready with his Pulse-Rifle, while Bishop pressed a switch to lower the steps.

A few seconds later, Leone and Chelsea stepped up the gantry, and into the Dropship's cabin.

Najenda walked up to her arriving Subordinates "Welcome back, you two. How did it go?" Chelsea step up and proudly announced "The Mission is accomplished. Borick is history." Night Raid's leader made a pleased smile and congratulated "Good job, Everyone! Now we're finally on track, in getting this Revolution in full swing. But, all of you be ready. Because, the battles are going to get more intense from here on in!" Every occupant within the Dropship made a serious face, full of determination and resolve. There'll be no turning back, from here on in. They must achieve victory, or die in the struggle. Their Opponents are strong and mighty, but Their allies' technology can level that playing field.

Ripley made a quick head count. "Everyone has made it back, Najenda. Let's pull out and leave this place." Najenda nods in confirmation and addressed all her Subordinates "Night Raid. Our mission here is completed. We are now leaving Kyoroch, and heading back to Hadley's Hope. Get some rest, and stand by for arrival." All of Night Raid nodded their heads, and began unloading and stowing their armaments.

Akame unstrapped the leg holster to her Handgun, and placed the weapon aside with her small pouch of bullet clips. Hicks walked up beside her and spoke "How did that Pistol turn out for you?" The red eyed assassin tucked Murasame in a nearby locker, and responded "It came in handy, against Ibara. But the trigger action was sort of heavy." The Corporal makes a sly grin "Bear with it, for a while longer. When We get to the Sulaco, I'll be sure to make some adjustments and try to offset that drawback." Akame threw him an excited smile "I can hardly wait."

Tatsumi placed his Shotgun and bandolier full of shells into a box and set it aside. He then took Incursio's sword form in its sheath, and hung it on the back of a passenger seat. He was about to unbuckle his Marine Armor, but stopped as he overhead Lubbock speaking "Sorry ladies. But, there's not enough room for you to change back into your clothes back here. You'll either have to remain in those revealing robes for the duration of the flight, or strip in front of the rest of Us."

Tatsumi walked up to the green haired defense operative, and berated him "Get out of their way Lubbock. You still have to remove your gear, as well." Lubbock threw him and aggravated look "Quit being stupid! Are you a Homo!?" The green eyed fighter grew red in the face and yelled back "Don't be an idiot! I'm totally not like that!" He then felt a hand placed on his shoulder, so he turned around and saw Leone and Chelsea were standing right behind him.

"Well in that case, Tatsumi. Whose outfit, do you like the most?" Leone asked with a sultry grin. Chelsea smiles and winked, while adding "Oh, I'd like to hear the answer to that."

Tatsumi began to blush, as Leone began to lean towards him while exposing the top of her cleavage. Chelsea stood next to her with her hands on her hips, as she swayed in a seductive manner. Tatsumi's blush grew redder, as he struggled to keep his nose from bleeding. He needed to find a way to get out of this.

"Hey, Su." Tatsumi called out to the humanoid Imperial Arm "I heard you helped Lubbock out of tight situation. Way to go, man!" Sweat dropped down the back Tatsumi's head.

"Ah…" Leone moaned in disappointment "He ran away…"

Hicks stood in front of the hatch leading into the cockpit "Hey. Settle down back there. I want everybody properly situated and seated. Bishop won't launch the Ship without Everyone belted and secure.

Mine unslung her Pulse-Rifle and slid it onto a rack. She then took Pumpkin's case, and stowed it under a passenger seat. Finally, she undid her pouch full of ammo, and set it into a nearby bin. When she finished, she took a seat and began to buckle herself.

When the pink haired sniper finished strapping herself to her seat, she turned and noticed Tatsumi has taken a seat right next to her. Mine also noticed the green eyed fighter had a disheartened look about his face.

"What's wrong?" Mine asked with slight concern. Tatsumi took a breath and began to explain "When I chased after that Rakshasa Demon, and cornered her, I offered to make her a comrade of Night Raid, she refused me outright with no apparent reason than her desire to fight and kill me. Even when I tried to warn her of the threat of the Aliens, she merely scoffed at my story, and called me a liar."

Mine stared at Tatsumi for a second, and then began to speak "You should already know by now, Tatsumi. That most people in this World don't really need or want a good reason to do terrible things. Some forego any excuse what so ever, and go on committing atrocities, just because they think they can get away with it. You throw in a story about the Xenomorphs, to try to make others see reason and civility, and you really think they would believe you?" She makes a sigh of disdain, and continued in a calmer tone "You have to admit, Tatsumi. The Aliens may be terrible and a bane to all Life in existence, but that won't convince everyone to put aside their immoral tendencies, in their common interest of survival."

The Genius Sniper then leaned her head against his shoulder, and closed her eyes "All We have is each other, in this fight. So, We all must do Our part and rely on one another, if we're ever gonna save this World from Those who would destroy it." Mine's voice began to drift of sleepily "Entrust your strength to Us, Tatsumi. The same way, Ripley, Hicks, and even Newt have entrusted theirs. And I promise you, that I will always have your back…" her voice droned off into a mumble, as she slipped into a deep sleep. Tatsumi place his arm around her, to support her surprisingly heavy head, while being extra careful neither of her twintails would get snagged.

All around the Dropship's cabin, Everyone else began readying themselves for flight. Ripley, Najenda, and Susanoo stowed their weapons on racks, and took their seats across the aisle. Newt sat next to Ripley, and Najenda sat beside Susanoo.

Chelsea and Leone managed to change into their former attire, and went to take their seats. Chelsea sat next to Tatsumi, and rested her head on his other shoulder, which prompted him into using his other arm to support her head. Leone sat down next to Akame and Hicks, and Lubbock took up the other seat beside her.

As soon as everyone got comfortable, Hicks spoke into his headset "Okay, Bishop. Everybody's ready for take off. Go ahead, and launch."

Over the PA speakers, Bishop replied "Affirmative. Commencing take-off…" Throughout the Ship, a sound of winding jet turbines began to rise, all round. After the thrusters achieves maximum lift, the cabin lurched upwards as the Ship began to lift off.

After the Cheyenne Dropship reached a certain altitude, Bishop disengaged VTOL hovering. Then, he throttled the engines, and flew the ship up into the evening sky.

 **Church of the Path of Peace, City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

The Lord of the Path of People stood in front of the Cathedral doors, and turned his gaze upwards at the setting sun. His thoughts were occupied by his encounter with that young couple he kept running into.

"I pray, that those two's future takes a different path, than what I predicted when I first met them." He then closed his eyes "Young souls, such as them, should not go through so much loss and suffering." he opened his eyes again and looked on once more at the waning sun. "But perhaps fate hangs in their favor? A strange glow looms all around them. It's as if some sort of power from beyond, is closely watching over them, ever vigilant and fiercely protective…"

Suddenly, the Cathedral doors burst open, and a disciple ran out to address his leader "My Lord! Terrible news! Our Lord Borick has been assassinated!" Many other disciples stood at attention near the Lord. One of them spoke up "Who would want to murder our beloved Lord Borick!? Could it have been the Empire!? Or perhaps those blasphemous Rakshasa Demons who keep him company!? Where are they right now!? They must be held accountable for this travesty!"

The Lord calmly raised his hands, and called for silence. When all his disciples quieted, he spoke "The loss of one our own is an unfortunate tragedy. But I say to you all, don't make reckless accusations and false assumptions. We need reasonable heads, and clearer minds if we're to make any sense of what has transpired-"

Another disciple ran out of the Cathedral and called out to everyone "My apologies my Lord. But I made an important discovery, whilst investigating the chamber in which Borick has perished." He produced a large bag full of paper and envelopes, then threw it at the Lord's feet. "I'm my search for clues, I've stumbled upon a secret passage that led to Borick's own Mansion. At the other end of the passage, was Borick's personal study." The vexed disciple then plunged his hand into the bag, and took out some of its contents "On his desk were piles upon piles of letters and documents. Detailed information regarding this Organization's infrastructure, background information of many of our followers, receipts of transferred funds, and even instructions on doing away with our own Lord!" He held up the papers for all to see "They are all addressed to the Empire's own Prime Minister Honest!" he threw the scattered papers in a fit of rage.

The Lord listened to this revelation, with a reserved demeanor. When he finally spoke, it was in a cold emotionless tone "Borick was secretly under the Prime Minister's employ. He's an Imperial Spy, sent to infiltrate our ranks." All around him, his followers and disciples erupted in a chorus of vengeful fury

"Traitor!" "Lecherous Imperial Bastard!" "Rapacious Charlatan!" "Vile Assassin!" "Where's his body!? Let's cut off the head and set on a spike!" "Where are the ancient scriptures!? Let's set a curse on his soul, and damn him for eternity. So that it will never know peace, and go on haunting those who sent him to us!"

The Lord raised his hands again, to calm his followers "Everyone, please calm yourselves-" he abruptly collapsed to the ground, as if struck. His eyes rolled in the back of his head, and he began convulsing. Everyone around him took notice of what's happening, and nearly panicked.

"Our Lord! What's wrong with him!" "He's taken by an illness! It must be Borick's work, or that of his fellow Imperials!" "Somebody, do something!"

"Nobody, touch him!" commanded one of the disciples "I've seen this plenty of times! He's gone into a trance. And a deep one, at that. It means, he's having one of his prophetic visions. Leave him be, until he's finished seeing what he has to see!" Every religious follower withdrew from the Lord, to give him space to breathe. No one was close enough to hear him whimper and mewl "no…stop…save…me…They're coming…"

("As the trance took hold of him, the Lord of the Path of Peace was plunged into the confines of his own mind. What he saw there, made him scream and cry with every strength he could muster. At first, he saw nothing. Only because It was so dark a void, that It's impression would have been considered nothing. But It couldn't have been the void, because It was moving. It was a moving, writhing darkness. And It has form. The Lord watched helplessly, as the form took a clearer exoskeletal shape. It stood on a pair of long legs, which allowed It to tower at 3 stories high. A long flexible tail with a large blade at its end, whipped and coiled behind It. Large spikes ran in pairs, along Its large back. In front of It were two pairs of clawed arms, with one pair massive and horrendously powerful, and the other pair smaller yet dexterous and precise. Finally, at where Its head should be, there was a broad crest resting on titanic shoulders. At the front of the crested head, was a protective slit, which housed something almost as terrifying as the rest of the body. The slit parted, and a massive jaw full of fanged teeth slid out into view. The jaws were the only defining feature of Its face. There were no eyes, nose, or ears. But It can see, because It was looking straight at the Lord. Somehow, It was able to see the Lord, the same way the Lord was seeing It within the trance. As if the trance itself was serving as a conduit, to bridge one mind to an infinitely greater, more terrible mind. While It continued to stare at him, the fanged jaws opened, and an otherworldly hiss emanated forth. Then, the jaws opened wider, and an unholy shriek sounded out. The Lord tried to cover his ears, but to no avail. The shrill cry was so loud, it can rival a thunderstorm. The cry receded, and Its mouth opened wider still. Suddenly, at the speed of lightning, a second set of inner jaws shot forth in a voracious _Snap!_ ")

The Lord finally regained consciousness, and sat up while making rapid unsteady gasps. His disciples gathered around him, and helped him to his feet.

"My Lord? Are you alright?" "What was it that you've seen in the vision, my Lord?" "Please, say something, my Lord. We are all here to serve you."

Shaken and desperate to regain his composure, the Lord raised his hands to call his followers to silence themselves. When everyone around quieted themselves, he spoke out urgently "Everyone, get the word out! Put the city on high-alert, and close off every road and gateway inside!" All of his followers stood there, unsure of what there leader was asking of them.

"Please, do as I say!" he implored "Have this city sealed on all fronts! No one goes in or out! Establish a curfew, and put every armed guard on watch!" most of the Lords disciples snapped out of their confusion, and proceeded in carrying out their Lord's instructions. Those who remained began asking questions.

"Is all well, my Lord?" "Why are we going on high-alert? Are we expecting an attack!?" "Is it the Empire!? Are they retaliating, because of Borick's death!?"

The Lord nearly regain his serene demeanor and tried to explain as best as he could about what he saw. "It's not the Empire." he explained "It's something much, much worse. It's an Evil, that is as ancient and foreign, as the stars above us. An all-consuming darkness bent of ending Life on all corners of existence. A World-Ender. A Species-Killer. The Apocalypse Itself!" Everyone around began to grow frightened.

"How can this be!?" "What should we do!?" "Please save us, my Lord!"

In the center of the crowd, another disciple fought his way to come before the Lord. "My Lord! This just came in by messenger eagle!" he held up parcel for all to see. The disciple then presented it to the Lord who accepted it, and opened it to see its contents.

The Lord then removed a letter from the parcel, and began reading it. With a determined nod, he folded the letter back up and began addressing his remaining followers "I want every able-bodied man to grab a shovel, and begin digging a trench along the outskirts of this city. Everyone else gather as much firewood, incense tinder, and anything else that can burn, for fuel." Everyone hesitated, and waited for an explanation. "That was a communique from the Revolutionary Army. They're somehow aware of the looming threat heading towards us, and have sent advice on how to safeguard our people." The Lord read the letter once more, to confirm something. When he finished, he resumed explaining "As soon as the trenches are finished, dump every fuel source we can spare, and start a fire. We are to keep these fires burning through the night, until daylight shines the next day."

While most of the people within the city set about their task of fortifying the borders, the Lord gathered all of his most faithful disciples. "We're moving ahead with the plan." He declared "We will have every one of our followers take up arms, and attack the Empire. It is imperative that we do this quickly, while we still have time. Otherwise, the Great Evil that threatens us all, will gather enough strength to become unstoppable. Only by overthrowing the Corrupt Empire, can our people unite with others, and face this Ultimate Evil together."

One of the disciples asked a question "My Lord. How can we know, that this Evil will wait long enough for the coming war with the Empire to be over?"

The Lord tried to put into words, what he sensed from his vision "Because, what I saw before had terrible power and a desire to further It own existence, through the deaths of all others. But the worst characteristic this Crawling Darkness had, was that It hasn't attained the height of Its strength as of yet. It's still growing, and It hasn't reached Its limit, if there is any..."

 **Eastern Outskirts, City of Kyoroch, East of the Empire**

Out along a long canyon, two men in explorer's gear were inspecting a collapsed ruin. One began to speak "We shouldn't be out here. There's a curfew in place for a reason. Word on the street is that apparently, something really, really bad is coming this way. And, it's not safe to be outside the city after nightfall." The other man waved him away "We still have small amount of daylight left. This is the perfect opportunity to check these ruins for treasure."

The second man observed what's left of the ruin's interior "This place sure came down hard. I hope we can find something good." He sees a large mound of rubble "this seems recent. It's as if something was intentionally buried here-"

Suddenly, the rubble began to stir. At top of the mound was a cluster of broken stone, which came apart when a hand shot out and reached up towards the sky. "Ahh! It's a Zombie!" both men screamed and ran out along the canyon, right towards town.

Suzuka shoved aside the pile of rocks, and climbed out of the ground. "Ha! I've experience a live burial. Good thing, the Body Manipulation technique saved me from being crushed." She blushed and scratched her cheek in thought "That was such a wonderful new game to play! For a liar, that boy in white and silver armor is not that bad a playmate…" the woman thought back on the boy's earlier story "Destructive Plague? Don't make me laugh. It has nothing to do with me, so it's none of my concern." She surveyed the ruins behind her, but darkness was encroaching fast, and made it hard to see the collapsed structures. The female Rakshasa Demon held herself as she pondered "That Night Raid girl called him, Tatsumi. I wonder if he's still alive…"

Something moved out the corner of her eye, and Suzuka quickly turned to sees what It was. Down her line of sight near the end of the gorge, there were shadows casted by the surrounding cliffs. And the shadows seemed to be moving.

"What's that?" Suzuka wondered, as she squinted to get a better look at the distant shade of darkness within the canyon. "Suzuka?" a voice called her name from behind her, and she quickly turned around while taking a fighting stance. She instantly relaxed, when she saw it was Mez who stood behind and spoke her comrade's name.

Suzuka calmed down, and smiled at her fellow Rakshasa Demon "Dammit, Mez! You'd nearly made me jump out of my own skin, just now. Mind you, that would've been fun for a different time." Mez shrugged and spoke "Borick is dead. His identity as an Imperial Spy has been discovered. And now, the members of the Path of Peace are locking down the city, and readying for war. Sten and Ibara are dead too. We're the only ones left, and we've failed our assignment. The Prime Minister is really gonna let us have it now." Suzaka eagerly licked her fingers "I can't hardly wait. I wonder, what he plans to do to us?"

Mez shrugged again "A one way trip to the Torture Chamber, I imagine." Suzuka quivered with excitement "Sometimes, I wonder if we're being spoiled. You wanna give me an extra hand, before it happens? We could have a lot of fun, with the free time we now have." Mez shakes her head "Not this time. You're too selfish."

"And you're so mean!" Suzuka responded euphorically. Mez then smiled at her "You seem to be unusually edgy. Did something happen to you?" Suzuka shakes her head "Nah. Just having some fun with a new acquaintance."

Mez rolled her eyes, and then found herself staring out at a distance. "Is that them, over there?" she pointed down the canyon, and indicated the shadows at the other end. Suzuka followed suit and then explained "No. That's something else. You can see it too, right?" Mez nodded her head in agreement "Yeah, there's definitely something moving over there. Whatever It is, It's keeping to the shadows, and staying just out of sight."

"It's probably watching us from afar. That's quite rude, don't you think?" Suzuka commented. Mez cupped her hands and shouted "We know, you're over there! Come out and show yourself!"

A moment passed by, till finally a shape began to come out of the shadows, and into the evening's fading light. As it crawled into view, the two remaining Rakshasa Demons instant saw It wasn't human. Its body was all black and exoskeletal. A long bladed tail whipped around behind it. Four tube-like protrusions stuck out of Its back. Clawed hands held up some of Its upper section, until it stood up in a hunched position. It head was an elongated skull with no face, except for a thin lipped mouth at the front. The same mouth parted the lips to show a jaw full of sharp silvery teeth. In a low hiss, the Creature opened the jaws, and a second set with sharp teeth, extended out from inside the main mouth. The secondary jaws opened and closed, before retracting back into the primary mouth.

"What the hell Is It?" wondered Suzuka "Some sort of animal? A Danger Beast, perhaps?" Mez held her hand out in front towards the unknown Creature "Whatever It is, It doesn't look friendly." she then pointed her fingers at It "Let's try to make It understand, that It shouldn't fuck with us." She stretched forth her arm and extended her fingernails. The attack traveled rapidly towards the Alien, and missed as the Xenomorph dodged sideways.

"You're getting sloppy, Mez" commented Suzuka. "Shut up!" retorted Mez "I'm just off my game, today. That's all!" she explained with a blush, as she recalled her encounter with Lubbock, before blacking out for some reason, and awaking to find herself in an embarrassing position.

 _Skree!_ The Creature retaliated, by charging headlong towards the Rakshasa Demons, in a violent screech. Mez sent out another attack, and It once again evaded while keeping up Its charge.

The Alien leaped off the ground in a pounce, and barreled straight for The two women. Suzuka smirks, and caught the Xenomorph by the arms. In a fluid maneuver, the female Rakshasa Demon turned the Creature over, and slammed It into the ground.

"Too predictable…" Suzuka taunted, but she suddenly felt something wrapped around her ankle. "Wha-!" was all she had time to say, before she was whisked off her feet in a whipping motion.

After landing on her side, Suzuka looked up to see the Creature had already recovered and was about to strike at her with Its claws.

Before It can attack, a set of long sharp fingernails embedded into the Alien's side, knocking It back and inflicting deep stab wounds into Its body. "Don't forget about me!" Mez declared, satisfied that her attack had finally pierced the target. The Xenomorph swiped away at the nails with Its claws, but the female Rakshasa Demon had already withdrew her attack.

Mez' fingers began to burn. As she looked down and noticed a yellowish fluid was quickly dissolving her finger digits, she cried out in pain "Ouch! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Before Mez could figure out what to do to make the pain stop, she turned aside in panic. It was then, that she realized something about the Creature, which made her forget all about her burning fingers.

It wasn't alone.

Another Alien leered from above as It hung over Mez, while crawling along the sheer flat side of the cliff face. In a blink of an eye, the Xenomorph lunged forward, and seized Mez by the neck, then It quickly dragged her up the cliffside, and scuttled back over the top edge.

Suzuka picked herself up, and stood up off the ground. She glanced up along the cliff face, in search of her fellow Rakshasa Demon. "Mez!" she called out, but there was no response. "Mez!?" Suzuka called again, not sure of what to do.

Suddenly, the twilit sky was shattered by a loud howling scream. It was Mez. Something terrible was being done to her.

Suzuka made ready to dash up the cliff side "Hang on, Mez! I'm coming!" Her preparation was interrupted however, as the first Creature that charged before, stood back up after receiving the wounds from Mez' attack, and stalked back towards the remaining Rakshasa Demon.

"Get out of my way, and we can play later." demanded Suzuka "I've got to go help my comrade." The Creature hissed in response, as it ignored the Rakshasa Demon's words, and made ready to attack. Suzuka noticed that Its wounds were bleeding a strange, yellow liquid. When the fluid dripped onto the ground, a hole would burn open where the drop had landed.

"What the Hell are these Things!" yelled the female Rakshasa Demon, as she took on a defensive stance against the Creature. Suzuka looked around, as movement from elsewhere caught her attention. She then backed up slowly, and watched in surprise as more and more Creatures started crawling out of the darkness of night.

Another scream sounded out into the night's sky.

Suzuka looked up at the top of the cliff, where Mez was taken. But she can no longer see any sign of her fellow Rakshasa Demon. Only the writhing shapes of more Aliens crawling along the side of the cliff with apparent ease. The pack of Xenomorphs numbered in the 30s, as more and more swarmed into the canyon. They began to head towards Suzuka in an attempt to surround her, leaving her with two choices to make as the area behind her started to close off. Run or Die.

"I'm sorry, Mez…" Suzuka turned around and bolted for the shrinking gap between the overwhelming Creatures.

The Aliens gave chase, but already began falling behind as the nimble Rakshasa Demon managed to outrun the entire pack.

A third scream filled the air, as Suzuka continued running with all her strength. She'd kept on running, even when her pursuers had long given up the chase. She never bothered stopping for an instant, not even for checking to see if she got away. Never daring to look back. Never wanting to hear that horrible, awful scream, ever again.

Chapter 7 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, Heroes and Villains cross paths. Will the Jaegers declare a Checkmate? Or, will Night Raid hit the Jackpot?


	9. Chapter 8

To All Readers: Thank you so much for your patience and your reviews so far. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated. Please enjoy this chapter, and review to speak your thoughts and opinions. To the Guest that keeps telling me to make more chapters, your enthusiasm is much appreciated, but I would like a bit more feedback on how I'm writing this story. Knowing whether or not Everyone is agreeing with my writing method helps me be sure if I'm going in the right direction. That'll really help write the chapters faster. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the Xenomorph prisoner within the Empire, That One is Extremely Special. Also, the Predators will appear in time, just not yet. Same with big bad Xenomorph Hybrids. At least Seven are guaranteed to appear. Keep on reading the chapters as the story runs its course, and find out what happens. Lastly, someone mentioned about me doing a Akame ga Kill! X Resident Evil cross fic. The thought crossed my mind, but I won't start working on that until I've fully completed this story.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 8: Odds

 **Atmosphere Processing Station, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Esdeath stood in front of the massive Processing Station's western side. Much of the ice that she covered it with has long been melted off, significantly decreasing the radius of the overwhelming heat output. The building is now accessible to a certain extent.

The Jaegers' leader turned to her Subordinates "Okay. Everybody, listen up." She then indicates the Atmosphere Processor "We're going to split up, at this point. Run will fly up and check the upper levels of the Processing Station. Wave will go down to the sub-levels, and make his way back up. Seryu, you and Koro will cover around the Processor's southern area, and work your way around. I'll go around, and check the north side. We'll all reconvene at the Processing Station's eastern entrance, afterwards.

Run and Seryu, both nodded their heads in confirmation. Only Wave seemed reluctant "Ma'am. What about Kurome? Are you sure it's alright, to leave her standing guard over that Colonial Marine, Hudson? Even if We have him tied up, the man could still be dangerous, since We don't yet know what he's capable of. And why must the Jaegers be separated again? What if one of Us runs into any more of those Aliens? They could still be lurking around these parts."

Esdeath made a frown, and replied "I understand your concerns, Wave. But I'm afraid, this is how it must be. Kurome has been through a lot recently, and she should hang back this time around. We've still got a lot of ground to cover, and not enough daylight hours to accomplish it. That's why I'm sending Everyone on different paths." The blue haired General then gave an assuring tone "It'll be alright, Wave. I'll be out here, keeping an eye on things. But, you'll have to be the one to go down into those sub-levels, and check the place out. We still need to know what happened down there, in regards to the Colonists and the Colonial Marines. Even though I cooled down a vast majority of the building, there are still some areas that are too hot, and I want to know what's the cause of all that heat. And you're the only one whose Imperial Arm can enable you to traverse that superheated environment." She looks out along the tree line of the Valley forest bordering Hadley's Hope "As for the Aliens. If any more of Them are still around, They would have shown Themselves already. It's a safe assumption, that They've moved on elsewhere."

Esdeath makes an evil smirk "We won't be on Our own for much longer. I've arranged for help to arrive real soon. Afterwards, We'll have Ourselves an enjoyable hunt for the Xenomorphs." The Wave sighed inwardly. "Looks like We're gonna actively pursue the Aliens, after this business is over and done with. What about Our mission to apprehend Night Raid?" he thought to himself. Next to him, Seryu exclaimed joyfully "Yes! We shall cleanse this World from the Evil Plague of the Xenomorphs, in the name of Justice! Then, We'll punish those Colonists and Colonial Marines, for bringing the Aliens here. Starting with that sinner, Hudson back at camp."

Run raised his hand up, and spoke "Commander. What about Night Raid? Are We not going to continue to find and eliminate that band of assassins?" Esdeath held her chin in thought. "The threat of the Aliens takes precedence over the Jaegers' initial assignment." declared the Jaegers' leader "We'll go after Night Raid, if an opportunity presents itself. But until then, This demands Our immediate attention." She looks up at the sky, and sees the sun starting to wane "Let's get going, Everyone. You all know where you have to search, so go and get it done. I want Us All back at sundown."

The rest of the Jaegers dispersed along the Atmosphere Processor's superstructure, leaving Kurome to stand guard at camp. Run activates Mastema and flew straight up at the top of the Processing Station. After picking out a place to land from above, the winged Jaeger descended down through the what's left of the Processor's rimmed peak.

Seryu hands Wave a mechanical arm with a radar-scope attached "Here, Wave. Take my Justice City Detector. You'll need it down there, more than I do up here." Wave graciously accept the offer "Thanks, Seryu. But what about you? You're weapons are out of ammo, same with that rifle you picked up." The amber eyed murderess smiles reassuringly "I'll be fine. I have the power of Justice on my side. Plus, I have Koro with me." The Sailor hesitated, and finally nods "If I find anything resembling weapons or ammunition, I'll be sure bring it back to you." Seryu nods appreciatively.

Wave turns and clips the Justice City Detector to his belt. He then calls out Grand Chariot, stabs it into the ground, and the black armor materialized around his body. With his Imperial Arm activated, the black armored sailor approached a hatch on the side of the building, and pried it open before stepping inside.

Seryu sprints towards the south end, with Koro barely hanging on to her shoulder. Esdeath took a quick look at the Jaegers' base camp, before dashing off towards the north.

Run hovers above the remains of a grated platform. The platform itself had many of its panels missing or in pieces, and didn't seem like it could support the weight of the General's Aide. And the pair of elevator shafts on the side didn't seem functional or wide enough for Mastema's wings to fly down.

"There must be some stairs, nearby." Run figured "Perhaps, near the elevator…there." He spots a stairwell lined up beside the elevator shafts, still intact and seemingly sturdy enough to use. With a sigh, the winged Jaeger glided down towards the stairs, and began to descend.

The first set of levels were comprised of catwalks overlapping a complex network of pipes and ductwork. The next couple of levels had work stations lined with plenty of charred computers, smashed monitor displays, and defunct control consoles full of gauges, switches, and buttons.

"Remarkable piece of machinery…" commented Run, as he continued descending level by level, in search of anything useful.

Esdeath crouched and examines the ground before her. All around, were piles of scrap metal and materials, that seem to have been part of the Atmosphere Processor. She frowns after detecting a set of footprints along the heaps of debris "Tracks are fresh…" The General look up to determine the footprints' directed path. They lead off further north and towards the east of the Processing Station.

"Someone's been here recently. Could've been Night Raid." Esdeath surmised "There hasn't been any sign of them at the Colony Proper. Was the Atmosphere Processor the first and only place they've checked?" The blue haired woman kept following the trail until it came up to another set of footprints. She checked her surroundings and saw she is directly north of the Processing Station.

The Jaegers' leader grew more intrigued at the new trail "Another member of Night Raid was probably wandering this sector. So, this one was joined by the other." Esdeath sees that the other tracks lead into the forest tree line. Taking no chance at an ambush, the General sent a cluster of ice javelins into the surrounding foliage. Random trees and bushes were embedded with the icy projectiles. Nothing else stirred.

"It's clear…" Esdeath followed trail further in, and stopped at the trail's end, near a small patch of flatten brush. "Something or somebody was lying here." speculated Esdeath. Nearby, there was a large number of footprint sets. "Whatever is was, it had gathered the rest of Night Raid's members here." the sapphire eyed General concluded "It must've been quite a find."

After inspecting the immediate area, Esdeath found that the trail leads back towards the Atmosphere Processor and towards the east side of the structure. "It seems they made their way back to camp with the object in tow. Whatever Night Raid had found. It must have been important enough, for them to postpone further exploration of the Colony." Esdeath sighed, as she continued to follow Night Raid's trail, with a concerning thought brewing in her mind. If Night Raid had already searched this place, there probably won't be anything left for the Jaegers to find.

"You find anything, Koro?" Seryu asked her biological Imperial Arm. Koro then looks up at her, and whines. Seryu nods, before stepping out through an open hatch on the side of a wrecked vehicle on wheels. "Well, I didn't find anything inside this odd carriage. Those lowly scavengers of Night Raid picked it clean. We'll show those Criminals, how Justice punishes greedy plunderers!" Her search around the vicinity had proved fruitless as well. Only footprints and tracks of several objects being dragged, were all she could initially find.

Seryu glanced back towards Night Raid's camp, and growled angrily "We'll take back this land and everything else that Evil has claimed! Justice won't allow the Wicked to rob others of their property." She turns and looks at the Atmosphere Processor "And I'll make sure the Empire gains ownership of this entire Colony. Only Our righteous and benevolent Nation can use all this technology, to set this World on the right path to Justice." Out next to the structure of the Processing Station, a very large object laid sideways. "What's that?" The auburn haired Jaeger narrowed her amber eyes and looked closely. It had a streamlined body and parts that were torn away and burned. It's overall shape was very familiar.

"It's the Airship, that Corporal Hicks and Bishop flew in!" Seryu ran towards the crashed Dropship, for a closer look. As the amber eyed murderess approached the larger wreck, she began to observe an obvious distinction that showed the crashed ship isn't what she thought it was. Back when the Jaegers encountered Hicks, Bishop, and the Airship, they could see the vehicle had a large white 02 painted on the side of the fuselage. This one in front has 01 painted on its demolished exterior.

"It's a different Airship" Seryu declared conclusively. She glanced around, and noticed a trail of scattered parts and twisted metal along with large lines of gouged earth lead away from the wheeled vehicle "This one must have fell out of the sky, smashed into the other vehicle back there, and rolled into the side of the Processing Station. Looks to have been burning here for a long time. I wonder who flew it, and what caused it crash?" She now stood next to wreckage, and was studying the fuselage for an opening.

Dozens of sizable crack wrinkled all over the exterior, but none were level or broad enough to enter through. The biggest crack Seryu can find, was located along a portion of the ship where it's belly was slightly upturned. "Koro!" Seryu called out to her biological Imperial Arm, then pointed to the gap "Remove."

Koro grew to medium size and sprouted large muscular arms. He then stomped up to the wreck and plunged his hands inside. With a loud chorus of squealing metal, a large piece of the ship came away, revealing a broad ramp leading into the wreckage interior.

"Good boy." Praised Seryu "Now give me the Shoulder Lamp, and stay close to me." Koro clamps his large mouth onto Seryu's right arm, and released it after, leaving the Shoulder Lamp in Seryu's mechanical hand. He then stepped back and reverted to small size. With the Shoulder Lamp equipped, and the biological Imperial Arm hanging from her shoulder, Seryu shined the light into the wreck's dark interior, and cautiously stepped up the ramp towards the inside.

The damage within the wreckage of the crashed Dropship was just as superficial as the outside. Passenger seats were overturned, and twisted and gnarled from many impacts. Cargo boxes lay scattered everywhere, with their hard surfaces smashed open, and their contents burnt beyond recognition. As Seryu glanced over the pile of ruined cargo, she noticed that one box is actually still intact.

"What do we have here?" wondered Seryu, as she worked the small lid clasps and unlocked the box. With caution, the amber eyed Jaeger slowly opened the crate, and thoroughly examined its contents. There was a dark colored garb resembling some sort of vest or harness which had cables, wires, and an articulated stabilizing arm running along the seams. Beneath the odd piece of garment, were a couple of black circular shaped drums, small blocky rods, and a device with a lens and eyepiece of some kind that seemed it was meant to be worn on one's head.

Seryu smirked and closed the crate back up, before calling for her biological Imperial Arm "Here, Koro. Hold onto this until after we take it back to camp with us." Koro enlarged his head, and gulped down the storage box. He then reverts to small size and trotted to catch up with his user as she made her way towards the front of the dropship.

Off to the side, in a corner, there laid the charred remains of a human skeleton. Seryu knelt to get a good view of the remains. Aside from a gapping hole in the skull portion, there was nothing else that can explain who this skeleton used to be, or what had happened to it. But, she can imagine what gave this roasted corpse that fatal wound. Seryu began to ponder about the prevalent question as to what caused the ship to crash, until she moved onward towards the ship's cockpit, and in affirmation to the auburn haired young woman's theories, she spotted two more charred skeletal remains.

One was that of an Alien Warrior, with It's tail blade impaling right through another human skeleton, piercing both the center torso of the victim and the seat behind. The explanation as to what had occurred here, was obvious.

"Stupid Sinners." Seryu sneered "They didn't think to check their Airship for stowaways. Evil is so foolish." With a satisfied grin, she turned back, and exited the wreckage.

"Hngh!" Wave grunted as he shoved away multiple pieces of junk from his path. The hatch he entered from outside, brought the black armored sailor into a corridor full of fallen debris and loose machinery. He'd had to manually clear a path, in order to make his way forward. Luckily Grand Chariot's armor granted him the strength to easily accomplish the labor.

With a dull metallic groan, the last piece debris came away and the path opened up into a large ramp that led deep into the bowels of the Atmosphere Processor's sub-levels. The passage itself resembled some sort of road. And sure enough, Wave can make out tracks to some sort of vehicle streaked along the dense grating of the causeway. He followed the track further down, and came upon something that made him alert.

In front of the black armored Jaeger, behind another pile of metal debris, was another corridor full of Alien Hive resin. Wave cautiously approached the entrance to the Alien Hive "I must be careful. There might be Aliens still in there." Not wanting to walk into another possible ambush, or get jumped a second time, he carefully surveyed his surroundings, and began to beat an armored fist against a metal support beam _Clong! Clong! Clong!_

A few minutes went by, and nothing happened. No movement detected on Seryu's Justice City Detector, no threatening hiss, or distance shrieks. There was nothing else besides Wave in the vicinity. "They must be long gone from here." presumed the black armored sailor "Wouldn't makes sense for the Aliens to come back to such a devastated place as this." With an affirmative nod to himself, he resolves to proceed into the ruined Hive, and then began to clear away the remaining debris.

After rolling a large cylindrical conduit to the side, the black armored sailor stepped forward, and felt his boot brush against a long black metal object. Curious, Wave looked down to see what he nearly stepped on. "Huh? What's this?" he bends down to pick up the item, and studies it closely. The object was long, came with two button and triggers filled grips with one towards the top center, and one at the back. At the front of the object was a large shrouded barrel, which entailed the item's obvious nature.

"It's some sort of firearm or rifle." Wave concluded. He then notices a set of strewn and frayed wires trailing out the bottom of the gun along an articulated mounting boom attached to a torn and tattered vest. "Okay. So it might be more complicated than an average weapon. But still, it might be of some use to Seryu if she can figure out how to use it." he mused, as he looked to the side of the weapon and sees a set of white letters scrawled "ADIOS".

"Adios…" Wave pronounced the word, curious of its meaning "Could it be its name? I wonder what it means?" Deciding to take the mysterious firearm along with him, the black armored Jaeger bundled up the weapon assembly as much as he could without further damaging it, and carried it over one armored shoulder.

With the large gun in tow, Wave uses his other arm to brush away the remaining debris. After doing so, he caught sight of another item of interest on the floor before him. It was a body, a charred skeletal remnant of what might have been a man. Aside from the burned nature of the carcass, two things came into notice. One was that the skull was rather melted than burned, and the other was that there's what appears to be another firearm laying nearby.

This other gun seemed different from the one before. It was smaller, had a shorter barrel that resembled some sort of nozzle, and had a large canister on the bottom. Lastly, this one didn't have anything distinctive written on its side. "Another weapon?" Wave stared at it for a minute, before shrugging and picking it up "Why not? If Seryu can't use the other, maybe she can use this." Fortunately for him, the second weapon had a carrying strap to sling over his other shoulder, and prevent the black armored sailor from overburdening both his arms.

Wave took one last look at the burned skeleton, and murmured "Sorry…" behind Grand Chariot's faceplate. He then turned forward and stepped along a path into the Hive corridor, his boots squelched with each step he made across the resin covered floor grating.

The path wound and milled deep in the sub-levels of the Processing Station. If it wasn't for Seryu's Justice City Detector and the ambient light from its luminescent scope, Wave would have easily gotten lost wandering the dark depths of the Hive. "I'll follow the extreme heat source, for now. Perhaps from there, I can find a way up?" Wave mused. He then looks up, and immediately forgets about finding the heat source or his bearings. Up above him, lining the slime covered walls of the Alien Hive, were the smoldering remains of the Hadley's Hope colonists.

"Ugh!" Wave's throat locked up, as he tried his hardest in fighting the nauseous urge to vomit within Grand Chariot's helmet. When he got over his initial disgust, he boldly stares back up at the incinerated skeletons trapped in their cocoons. "So, this is what happened to them. Why did I think otherwise?" muttered Wave. The video logs he'd seen earlier gave him and his teammates a very lucid premise to what had transpired here. "An army of 1400 Imperial Soldiers didn't stand a chance against the Aliens. 158 civilian colonists definitely wouldn't have fared any better."

The black armored sailor then recalled something "That Corporal Hicks survived the ordeal. He should know how all this started, and why." he speculated "We have to find Hicks, somehow. Maybe that guy Hudson knows a way? We got to get whatever information from him as soon as he wakes up."

Wave took one last look at the immolated colonists, and shook his head "Gotta find some way of dealing with those Xenomorphs. Or else, everyone we know will end up just like this." His thoughts drifted to the citizens of the Imperial Capitol, the Young Emperor, Bols' Wife and Daughter, Everyone he knew back at home, his fellow Jaegers, and Kurome. "I won't let that happen!" Wave declared. "No matter what, I'll protect them all with every last bit of my strength!"

With a fierce look of determination behind Grand Chariot's faceplate, the black armored Jaeger tore his gaze away from the dead colonists' skeletons, and marched on into the depths of the Hive.

"Seryu, what kept you?" Esdeath inquired sternly, upon seeing her auburn haired Subordinate arrive at the rendezvous later than expected. Seryu makes an apologetic look, and explained "Sorry for my tardiness Ma'am. But Koro and I came across an interesting find within our sector. There's another Airship, similar to the one that Criminal Corporal Hicks flew in, when We first met him and Bishop."

Esdeath's interest was piqued, at hearing Seryu's explanation. But before she can inquire further, Seryu continued explaining "The ship is totaled, and it's not the same one Hicks and Bishop were in. The markings were different." The General nods in understanding. "Did you already check it out? Was there anything left to find?" The amber eyed Jaeger nods "Found a small box of odd looking equipment. And there were three burned bodies. Two of them were human, one was an Alien."

The Jaegers' leader held her chin in thought "They must have unknowingly picked One up, and It killed them, causing the ship to crash." Her Subordinate concurred "Precisely, Ma'am! Justice was rendered to both wicked villains, and together they plummeted down in a blaze of purging fire and twisted metal."

Esdeath glanced towards the direction where the crashed dropship lay "I wonder if that Corporal Hicks knows of the fate of the people who were in that ship. And what of Hudson? Is he aware of his comrade's circumstances? Is there a way for them to contact one another, even at a vast distance? Maybe Run can figure out a way." a cruel smirk spread across the blue haired woman's face "If not, I'll be sure to ask Hudson, when I interrogate him." She then turned her gaze towards the Atmosphere Processor, in their camp's direction "Wave and Run should be here soon. I don't think they'll find much of anything in there. It's too far gone in terms of devastation. And Our time would be better spent getting Hudson to tell Us every little thing he knows. From the events leading to Hadley's Hope's arrival into this World, right down to his favorite color…" the General then looked up at the sky thoughtfully "Gonna have to take my time, and work him slowly. Given his state of health, he might die too soon, of I employ my usual methods."

After all long while of pondering, Esdeath breathed a sigh "Heh… this'll be the first time I've shown restraint. If I haven't such a pressing need for information on Hadley's Hope, Weyland-Yutani, the Colonial Marines, and the Aliens…" she then resumes her sadistic grin "Oh well. Who says, going about slightly torturing someone less than usual, would be any less fun?"

Seryu looked at Esdeath, and quietly wondered why her Commander was smiling wide, as they both stood around patiently waiting for their fellow Jaegers to rejoin them.

Wave stood before an extremely large machine which resembled some sort of complex chamber. According to Seryu's Justice City Detector he was carrying, the machine had the highest heat signature around. "This is most likely the source of the extreme heat." speculated the black armored sailor. All around the machine were a multitude of pipes, cables, and conduits plugged into various ports and sockets.

"It kinda reminds me of the Auxiliary Power Generator, down in Colony sub-basements. Could this be the power source to this facility?" to Wave, both machines looked quite similar. The main differences, was that the machine down here in the Processing Station's sub-levels is one level taller, reaching up past the three sub-levels and to the surface level, and there was a small hatch towards the base of the machine. The hatch was big enough for a full grown man to step in, and the was a round porthole of shattered glass in the middle. Upon peering into the mangled porthole, the black armored Jaeger can see several thin cylindrical rods lining the insides of the machine. Each rod was chipped and busted in various places, and gave off a very dull glow.

"All of this looks important." surmised Wave "I should share this information with the Commander. It might help us understand this place better." He turns and checks his surroundings "I'd better get out of here. Grand Chariot's starting to overheat, and I think I've dug up all I can from down here."

Suddenly a voice calls down from above "Wave? Is that you?" The black armored sailor quickly perked up his helmeted head "Run, is that you calling me? Where are you?" Run calls out a response "I'm up here. About one level above that machine. Right on top of you." Wave followed his Comrade's direction and can barely make out Run's silhouette leaning over the safety railing of a catwalk set high up. "The radiant heat of that machine prevents me from venturing further down." Run explained "But It's a safe assumption, that it's the main cause of the Atmosphere Processor's current state."

"Any idea, as to what exactly is this machine or its purpose?" Wave asked. The General's Aide just shrugs "I can't be sure of anything unless I get a closer look, which is far too hazardous to accomplish, I'm afraid." Run then looks off in the distance "We'll just have to add that to the list of things to ask Mr. Hudson, upon his awakening."

Wave nods and spoke once again "Did you find anything, while up there?" Run makes another shrug, and answered "Nothing. It's all burned and blasted apart, up here." Wave continues to nod and concurs "It's the same down here. There wasn't much, I could find." The black armored Jaeger didn't want to mention the Colonists just yet. Not until he's with the rest of his Teammates, so he can share his discovery just once. Thankfully, Run didn't press him for an explanation. Instead, the winged Jaeger pointed towards another direction and spoke "I saw a stairwell, over that way. Use it to meet me on the surface level. Then, we'll head for the Processor's eastern entrance, and join up with General Esdeath and Seryu."

With a final nod, Wave makes for the direction towards the stairwell, while Run flies off along the catwalk to go and wait for him.

 **Jaegers' Camp, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

 _Gasp!_ Hudson woke up in a fit of pain and disorientation. He tried to stand, to roll for cover, or crawl to somewhere safe, but couldn't move an inch. He was tied down. "Wha-what happened! Where the Fuck, am I!" the ComTech wildly spun his head around to try and get his bearings. He can see, he's in some sort of large tent. Poles, struts, and flap openings made up his immediate surroundings. The center support pole, is what he's tied to with rope and chains. Off to the side was a sleeping cot and some old storage chest.

 _Munch!_ The Colonial Marine gazed in front of him, and noticed someone was sitting beside a table, eating sweets from out of a bag. She looked like a young girl, possibly in her teens, wore a black sailor dress uniform with a long matching skirt, she had medium black hair, and dark black eyes that seem dull and distant. Hudson had fought enough Interstellar Smugglers and Space Pirates, to know a drugged and doped up individual when he sees one.

"Who are you?" Hudson asked the person before him. The teenager stopped eating, and turned to face him. "You're finally awake…" she was about to put away her bag of sweets, but change her mind after seeing the perturbed Colonial Marine "Want some candy?..." she held out her bag, and tried to act friendly. The last thing she wanted, was to aggravate her guest, and risk something bad to happen.

It didn't have the desired effect.

The ComTech made an irritated scowl "Look, Kid! I don't have time for bullshit, so I'll ask one more time. Who The Fuck Are You!? And Where The Fuck Am I!? Where the Fuck is Hicks!?" The teenage girl stood up and away from the table, and quickly drew a Revolver Pistol from a holster on her side.

Hudson grew silent, as the young woman walked towards him while brandishing her gun. Aside from the Revolver Pistol, Hudson can see what look like a katana in its sheath, strapped to the teenager's hip, and a side skirt cover draped around the other hip. She was standing an arm's length from the Marine, when she finally stopped and crouched in from of him.

After a looking the ComTech over for a moment, the young woman spoke "My name's Kurome. I'm one of the Jaegers, the Empire's special police force of Imperial Arms users, operating under direct leadership of General Esdeath, to locate and eliminate a particular group of rebel assassins called Night Raid. We also hunt down and kill All who the Empire deems an enemy, both foreign and domestic." Kurome narrowed her steel eyes straight into Hudson's "You're safe…for the moment. You're in Our base camp at the edge of Hadley's Hope." Kurome then stood up without taking her distant gaze off of him "As for where Corporal Hicks is. We like to know the answer to that, Ourselves." She began to grip her Revolver Pistol a little tighter.

It didn't take Hudson long, to figure out he was in some kind of danger. And he'd rather know exactly what the threat is "If I'm safe inside your camp, why are you holding onto that gun, like you're going to do something with it?" Kurome leered at him like she would a target for assassination "I think, you know why…" Hudson was still unsure about what the teenage assassin was talking about, she said to him "What is the last thing, you remember?" Hudson took a moment to think.

"They grabbed me…" answered the ComTech "I was fighting Them off, and They grabbed and pulled me under. Hicks tried to save me, but They proved too strong. I fell into darkness, and that was the last thing I remember." Kurome listened to him closely, then nodded as if confirming something "Can you guess, how We found you?" Hudson reluctantly shook his head, so the young woman clarified "You were in a cocoon. The Aliens abducted and left you covered in slime, down in the sub-levels."

A cold sense of dread came over Hudson. "Were there any eggs, nearby? What about one of the Parasites? Were any of their carcasses around?" Kurome shook her head and replied "No. We didn't see anything of that sort." The ComTech started to relax "So, there may be a chance, that it hasn't happened…"

Kurome makes a shrug "Perhaps. But if it's the contrary…" she held up the Revolver Pistol, and waved it in front of him "I might have something, to offer to you." The teenage Jaeger looks off towards the outside of the tent "If you tell Us everything We want to know, I'll be the one to ease your passing. I doubt you'll get such an offer from the Other Jaegers, especially Our leader." Hudson scanned their surroundings, with suspicion "What is it, you want to know?"

Kurome began counting off items in her mind "What are these Xenomorphs? Where did They come from? Who or what is Weyland-Yutani? How are they involved with the Hadley Colony and the Aliens? Where exactly is LV-426, and how did Hadley's Hope and the Atmosphere Processor end up in Our World? And, how do the Colonial Marines fit into all this? How many Marines are out there?"

Hudson kept up his suspicious look "If I tell you what I know, what guarantee do I have, that you'll keep your word?" Kurome holstered the Revolver Pistol "What guarantees, can I give you?" The ComTech pondered for a minute. He then spoke "Tell me more about yourself, the people you work with, these Jaegers and their allegiances, also tell me more about this Empire you mentioned. And why are you asking where LV-426 is located? Aren't We on LV-426?" The teenage assassin trotted towards the side of the tent. After unbuckling a couple of straps, she parted some flaps and opened them. She then stepped back, and allowed the Marine to get a full view of the landscape outside.

What Hudson saw, nearly made him speechless "Wh-what the Fuck!?" Outside was a forest surrounding a large Valley, at the base of a mountain range. Nestled in the center of said Valley, was the terraforming colony of Hadley's Hope with the neighboring Atmosphere Processor. Both the Processing Station and the Colony itself had shown signs of major damage, as if something catastrophic overtook it all.

"Did the Processor blow up, like Bishop had predicted?" Hudson asked himself "But, that still wouldn't make sense. Why would there be a lush green forest and mountain wilderness surrounding a Colony that should be nothing more than a smoking crater on a barren planet?" The ComTech was smart enough to piece together a logical conclusion. The Colony's no longer on planet LV-426. And neither is he. Everything ranging from the Colony and the Atmosphere Processor, to the Aliens and Colonial Marines, have been somehow sent to a different World.

"Do you get it, now?" asked Kurome "You're not where you think you are. You're in a completely different place. What We want to know, is how you, Hicks, the Colony, and the Aliens came to be here? And why?" Hudson looked back at Kurome, and replied "You still need to tell me what I asked you, first. And how you came to know about Hicks." The teen makes a smirk "We crossed paths with him and Bishop, about a couple of days ago. We mistook him for a different group we've been hunting." The Marine made a curious face "You're talking about Night Raid. The group of assassins, you're team was assembled to fight against?" The young woman corrected him "You're mistaken. My team was created to KILL Night Raid. Weren't you listening?" she then made a grim yet casual expression, that sent a chill down Hudson's spine "The Jaegers will kill any who dare oppose the Empire, no matter who it may be."

Hudson didn't like what he was hearing "Is your nation at war or something? Who would the Empire consider as enemies? Why wouldn't they talk out their differences and grievances, first? What if these so-called enemies tried to negotiate, or surrender?" Kurome made a quick snort, as if he'd told her something slightly amusing. "Neither the Jaegers, or Our Leader believes in surrender." she explains "And, neither do most of our government officials, both political and military. If they had, I would no longer be useful in my line of work." The ComTech was becoming less and less comfortable with the young woman in front of him. "What line of work?" he demanded "Who exactly are you, Kurome?" Akame's Younger sister glared at him for a moment.

"You wanna know that badly, huh? Alright, fine then. I'll tell you everything…" Kurome proceeded in telling Hudson everything about herself and the Empire. Starting with the purchase of her and her Older Sister, as slaves by the Empire. Her hellish training, and induction into the Empire's assassination squad. Her long career as one of the Empire's deadly and merciless assassins, killing all whom the Empire sees as a threat, and believing wholeheartedly that such treacherous actions would make the World a better place. Her draft into an experimental science program, towards enhancing her body's strength and resilience, and receiving her Imperial Arm, Yatsufusa, afterwards. Her sister's defection to the Revolutionary Army, and betrayal against the Empire, after joining Night Raid and assassinating a number of Imperial citizens. The Jaegers' inception and mission to seek and destroy Night Raid. Their recent assignment to investigate the Valley containing the Hadley Colony. Their encounter with Hicks and Bishop, and later the Aliens and subsequent battle against Them, which ended with the Xenomorphs fleeing the Hive after the Jaegers demolished it and retreated back to the Empire's Capital. The loss of one of their own, Kurome receiving her replacement Imperial Arm, Muramasa, and the second attempt at the Valley expedition. Their discovery of the Hadley Colony, and their understanding of its purpose. The accounting concluded with Hudson's rescue, and the construction of the Jaegers' base camp in the Valley's western forest.

Hudson listen closely to every detail of Kurome's story. By the time Kurome finished, the Marine took great pains in maintaining a passive expression. He didn't want her to see how horrified and disgusted he actually was towards the teenage assassin, after realizing what kind of sick sociopathic killer she's been made to be. At the same time, the ComTech couldn't help but feel pity for the young woman. Her hard luck life, reminded him of another girl who suffered a traumatizing fate, Newt.

"No." Hudson thought to himself conclusively "They're not the same. Newt may have been a feral scavenger at first, but she's done what she had to do in order to stay alive. A Survivor. She's not at all, like what Kurome is. A Monster. A Murderer. The culmination of everything depraved and immoral, the Empire has ever done to her."

The ComTech then realized something about Kurome's retelling of past events "She hasn't mentioned Ripley or Newt. Nor Gorman and Vasquez, for that matter." Although he should consider Burke as well, he didn't really give two shits for that RatFuck Son of a Bitch.

"Kurome spoke about Hicks and Bishop. But no mention of the Others. Could something have happened, and they wound up separated?" Hudson speculated "What exactly took place, while I was out? I need more information." Suddenly, a new sense of dread overcame him, when he realized something else "Where are the Aliens, now? Where could they have gone?" The ComTech is fully aware of the voracious rate in which the Xenomorphs can increase in number, so long as there are suitable hosts available, in this case it would be an entire nation called the Empire.

Hudson wanted to know more regarding his Comrades and the Aliens. Unfortunately, it seems he won't be getting anymore from this Jaeger, Kurome. Because, he now knows what he is to this disturbing young woman. He's her prisoner, and this child soldier is his warden keeping watch over him, while her Comrades, the other Jaegers, are out doing God knows what. The ComTech despaired at his current situation. One way or another, he might not make it out of this alive. Why else would the teen confide so much info to a stranger. It's because she knew, she's talking to a dead man.

Kurome began to close up the exit flaps to the tent. When she had finished, she went back over to Hudson, and crouched in front of him once again "Okay, I've shared all that I know. Now, it's your turn. Tell me Everything that I've asked of you before."

"Wait…" Hudson replied "There's still one thing, you haven't told me." Kurome glared at him questioningly "What?" The ComTech took a moment to think of something to stall the teenage Jaeger.

Hudson quickly eyed the katana sheathed at Kurome's side "What are Imperial Arms?" Kurome looked down at Muramasa for a minute, before answering.

"Imperial Arms are the various weapons and equipment, wielded only by the most powerful of fighters." Kurome explained "Made from various parts from extremely rare and powerful Danger Beasts, and a nearly mythical material called Orichalcum, they are this World's most powerful weapons that ever existed. Each one is capable of wiping out whole armies, and defeat even the mightiest of warriors." Hudson stared hard at the teenage Jaeger, while doing his best to hide his confusion "What the Hell, is she talking about?" he thought "What kind of devices can cause that amount of carnage? WMDs? How could these people develop such an arsenal?"

Kurome paused a moment before resuming her explanation "The Imperial Arms were created by the First Emperor, many centuries ago. The Empire was small back then, and was surrounded by legions of hostile Tribes and rival Nations. Only through the use of Imperial Arms, did the Empire managed to survive and prosper. There were 48 Imperial Arms at the beginning, but countless years of wars and internal strife had seen about half that number disappear. All that's left is All that ever will be, since the method of developing Imperial Arms has been lost soon after the originals have been produced. There has been many attempts to replicate the process, but none proved successful." Hudson spoke up, and asked "No one has ever figured out what techniques were utilized?" She shook her head "It's been theorized, that some sort of magical science, was used. I think some call it Alchemy, but there aren't any known practitioners of Alchemy within the Empire.

Kurome unstrapped Muramasa from her hip, and held it in front to show Hudson the katana Imperial Arm. "None of the Imperial Arms are exactly the same. They come in various shapes and forms, and have varying degrees of powers and abilities." That statement made Hudson curious "What do you mean by that?" The teenage assassin began naming certain Imperial Arms' capabilities "Some can grant you the power of flight. Others can transform and cover you in a magical suit of armor which can strengthen the wearer beyond their normal capacity. There are some, which can be living creatures that obey their user's orders, and fight with vicious savagery and brutality. There are even Imperial Arms, which grant their wielder the ability to control the elements such as water, ice, and lightning." Kurome held up Muramasa once more "However, not all of the Imperial Arms are as conspicuous as their other counterparts. Most can look no different than a simple sword or gun, yet they contain very lethal attributes when activated. Like my Big Sis' Imperial Arm, Murasame, a katana with a poisonous blade that can kill all living opponents with just a single scratch. And, my Muramasa here. It's ability can enhance my physical strength and speed many times over."

Hudson nodded, to show he understands "You mentioned about having an Imperial Arm, called Yatsufusa. What can that one do?" Kurome strapped Muramasa back to her waist, and then answered the ComTech's question "Yatsufusa was a wonderful blade. It allowed me to raise the dead, and bind them to my will. With it, I've brought back foes and friends alike to fight at my side. I've never had to say goodbye to anyone I cared about, back when I still had that Imperial Arm." Her face began to fill up with regret "But, one of those damned Aliens destroyed my Imperial Arm, along with my Dolls. And without Yatsufusa, getting my Sister back will be very difficult..." The Colonial Marine was awestruck "Is this Chick for real?" he wondered "What kind of weapons can kill with a single scratch? Or manipulate ice? Or even raise the fucking dead!?" He then looked back at Kurome, as the young woman's gaze became detached and distant.

"What's she going on about, in regards to her Older Sister?" Hudson thought "I gotta know what she's planning." The ComTech whistled, to get Kurome's attention. "What is your Sister's name?" He asked. Much to his surprise, Kurome smiled fondly. "Akame." she said in a loving tone "My Big Sis' name is Akame."

"Akame?" Hudson repeated after the teenage assassin who nods in confirmation. "Cool name." commented the Marine "She sounds like an amazing person." Kurome threw him a jealous glare, and spoke "You know nothing. My Big Sis is beyond amazing. She's Strong, Beautiful, Loving, and Perfect in every way." She then began to smile ecstatically "I'm so lucky, to have Her as my Big Sis. I'd never leave Her side."

Then, Kurome's face began to darken "But she betrayed me, turned her back on our friends and our comrades, and then turned her sword against the Empire we served under." Her expression then became more disturbed, borderline hysterical "She abandoned me! She Left me alone in this Chaotic World to fend for myself. And I had to do whatever it took to survive." Her hand began to idly feel the hilt of her sword "But, soon…" she said insidiously "I'll be able to bring her back to me. And this time, my Big Sis will never leave me again."

Hudson was at a loss for words. "What the Fuck, does she mean by that?" just when the ComTech thought he'd figured out what he was dealing with, this psychotic young woman had to go and lead him down a whole new avenue of bat shit crazy.

"You're a fucking Insane Individual. Do you know that?" Hudson blurted out. Kurome looked at him, like she's just been slapped "What was that!?" Hudson couldn't stop talking "You heard what I said. You've got abandonment issues. Well, Boo-Hoo, tough shit. You think, you have it so bad!? Try thinking about all those you've killed, just because someone gave you the order! What about their woes and regrets!? Why should you determine who lives and who dies!? Why should your superiors decide as well!? You thoughtlessly take the lives of innocent people, and yet you'd have the gall to judge those who wouldn't stand to remain mindless killing machines like yourself!?"

Kurome started to look enraged, but Hudson continued to push her "You say Akame betrayed and abandoned you? It looks to me, like you were the one who abandoned Her. At least, She had the decency to wake the fuck up and stop the heinous killings. Unlike you, who remained the Empire's little Bitch, and did whatever they told you to do." Kurome's eyes warped into a demented state of hate and rage "Shut Up! Don't talk about my Sister, like that!" The ComTech then smiled mockingly "Awww…Did I touch a nerve? Are you going to cry, like a Widdle Baby? Maybe, you should go cry to your Big Sis? Oh wait, You can't! Because, She's no longer around! You've let Her go, and you didn't even bother to try and follow Her, You Self-Centered Piece of Jail Bait!"

Akame's Younger Sister drew Muramasa from its sheath. Power began to well up inside her, and her anger allowed her to ignore the initial strain. "I said, Shut Up!" Kurome bellowed out, as she held the glowing red blade poised. Hudson gave her a defiant look "Why don't, you fucking make me!?"

"ARGHHH!" Kurome roared, and charged straight towards Hudson, ready to cut him down-

"Kurome, Stop!" someone's voice rang out inside the tent. Kurome instantly withheld her attack, leaving her katana mere centimeters away from Hudson's throat. The ComTech glanced sidelong, looking for the owner of that voice. He then lays eyes on whom he may consider the most beautiful woman he's ever seen stepping through the tent's main entrance. Her skin is marble white, eyes as blue as sapphires, with long blue hair flowing down the length of her back. She wore a white military uniform with matching thigh-length high-heeled boots. A long thin sword is strapped along to her slim waist, and a tattoo-like marking rested above the cleavage of her ample-sized breasts.

Behind the blue-haired beauty, three other people entered the tent. One was a young man with blonde hair, wearing a white robe with a black suit underneath, and a pair of strange discs attached to the back of his shoulders. The second person was another young man, who had dark hair and dark blue eyes, and wore a blue leather jacket over a white shirt, grey pants with a sabre strapped to the belt, and black boots. The third person was a young woman in a green military uniform, had auburn hair and amber-colored eyes, with a small puppy looking animal riding on her shoulder, and her arms seem to be made of metal.

Esdeath looked over to a restrained Hudson, then over to a Muramasa-equipped aggressive Kurome, and put two and two together. She then gave the ComTech a threatening glare "I must insist, you don't antagonize my Subordinates, Mr. Hudson." Seryu stomped up beside her, while angrily gnashing her teeth "Ungrateful Savage! After all the troubles the Jaegers went through, just to get you out from those tunnels. You actually have the nerve to provoke a Warrior of Justice!?"

Hudson leered at the other Jaegers. Now that he got Kurome to spill out the details of what the Empire and its underlings are all about, there's only one thing the ComTech wants from these kinds of people. "Blow Me…" he answered. The auburn haired young woman quickly turned red in the face "What did you say!?"

Hudson began to clarify "Suck My Dick."

Seryu instantly turned to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro!". Koro growled menacingly, and hopped off of his user's shoulder. But much to Seryu's surprise, Run placed himself in front of them. "Stop it! Don't you understand? He wants you to kill him." The General's Aide then looked at the Marine "Which is probably most preferable to him, than the alternative."

Hudson gazed down at the front of his armored chest. How soon, he wondered, until he's ripped apart from the inside with unspeakable agony. Assuming the worst has happened to him, after he was captured.

"Perhaps, we got off on the wrong foot." spoke up Esdeath "Why don't we give ourselves a proper introduction?" She indicated herself "My name is Esdeath. I'm a General of the Imperial Army, and the Commanding Officer of the Jaegers." She then turned to her Subordinates "This one's name is Run. That one over there, is Wave. And hers is Seryu, with her Imperial Arm, Koro." After identifying each Jaeger member, the General turned to indicate the last remaining Jaeger "I see, you've become acquainted with Kurome here-"

"Spare me the Ass-Kissing, General Esdeath." interrupted Hudson "I know what you people are, and the shit you've got yourself into. Your Subordinate here had already revealed, that you are currently looking for Hicks. Your Planet and everybody on it, are facing its end, because of the Aliens. And, you'd rather waste time hunting for my Comrade, instead of helping him to destroy the Xenomorphs."

Seryu ranted back, in response "How dare you accuse Us of being Evil! You were the ones who invaded Imperial Territory, and brought that Plague along with you!. You intruded on Imperial Lands, unleashed the Aliens upon Us, and now you demand that We exterminate Them for you!?"

Run stepped forward and placed an arm in front of his angry Comrade "We've no quarrel with You or your people, Hudson. We all want the same thing. To have all of the Xenomorphs destroyed. But, the Jaegers and the Empire need your help to do it. So please, tell us everything We need to know."

Hudson stared at Run for a moment. To the ComTech, the blonde man seems reasonable, but it doesn't seem like he would hold any sway over his teammates. "Private First Class, William Hudson, A08/TQ1.0.41776E3." he said finally "That's all you're getting from me."

Suddenly, and faster than anyone would be able to follow, Esdeath drew her rapier, and lunged straight at Hudson. She then stepped back, and watched as the ComTech's armor came away from his torso, and clattered to the floor, leaving his undershirt exposed. The armor's straps were neatly cut away from their fasteners.

"I'll decide what We'll be getting from you, Private." Esdeath spoke threateningly, as she placed the tip of her rapier alongside Hudson's face, and nicked him on his cheek, drawing the tiniest droplet of blood. "One way or another, You will tell Us what we want to know."

The ComTech took a moment to consider the situation. He may be someone living on borrowed time, and have nothing to lose. But judging by how this woman was leering at him, like someone who's looking at him as a child would look at an insect before plucking off the wings and legs, Hudson can tell that Esdeath is going to make it so the Marine's last moments would be most unpleasant.

"Kurome says that your group consists of the strongest fighters in the Empire." started Hudson "She also says that you've fought with the Aliens, and managed to drive Them from Their Hive. Is all that true?" Esdeath makes a smirk and proudly nods "The Xenomorphs are a most formidable species, I've ever fought. Nothing would please me more, than to slay them all by my own hands. But, we've lost track of Their whereabouts, and need some way of finding Them again, so We can finish Them off. Which is why We took you out of those tunnels, and brought you to Our camp. Your people must know more about the Aliens, than what We the Jaegers have gathered so far."

Esdeath withdrew her rapier and sheathed it "So, I'm going to ask you one last time. Tell Us everything you know, or We're going to make you scream the information out." She holds out her hand over Hudson's chest "And, whether or not you have one of Them inside you, don't think for an instant that I won't try to stall the hypothetical parasite from granting your final release. I'll figure out a way to hold it off, and prolong your agony." Hudson can feel himself shivering from a freezing sensation, which started ever since the blue haired woman held her hand so close to him. For reasons he couldn't understand, the ComTech does not want that hand to touch him.

Wave began to speak up "Hudson, I was in the Atmosphere Processor's sub-level, and I went inside the Alien Nest. I saw what was left of the Colonists, down there." He pointed in the Colony's direction "If the Jaegers don't stop the Aliens fast enough. Everybody in the world, will end up just like that." The young man walks over to Kurome, and places a hand on her shoulder to get her to relax her hostilities "We know you and your people, as well as the Xenomorphs are not from this world. We can see you've had multiple run-ins with those Things, and want Them dead as much as We do. So, please. Help Us find those Monsters, so We can put an end to Them for good."

Hudson glanced around, and began to calmly explain "I really don't know where Hicks is located, nor do I possess any means of contacting him." then, he added "And, no amount of torture is going to change that fact." Off to the side, Seryu snarled "Liar! We've seen the recordings within the Colony archives. We know you Criminals use a headset device to communicate with each other." The ComTech merely shrugged and indicated his helmet from the side "It's a short wave radio transmitter. It doesn't work unless a corresponding communication device is in close proximity, or if there's a relay nearby that can boost the signal."

Esdeath pondered Hudson's explanation for a minute "You better tell Us something useful. I want to know how much do you know about the Aliens, and why was the whole Colony and Everything in it was transported to Our World." The ComTech considered what was demanded from him. "Any chance of you getting these chains off me?" The General coldly shook her head "You've given me no reason to do so."

Hudson took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Hope you guys have lots of guns." he began "Because, swords and a little attack dog ain't gonna do you much good."

Wave reached behind his back, and presented both weapons he'd found earlier "Would these do, Hudson?" The ComTech instantly recognized the Flamethrower and the Smart Gun, especially the white letters inscribed on the latter. He silently wondered if the Smart Gun's previous user was still alive and safe somewhere. Vasquez would most likely come for her fellow Comrade, if given the chance. Both her and Hicks. "Where did you get those?" Hudson asked. The sailor Jaeger pointed towards the outside of the tent and explained "I found these lying just outside of the Alien Hive. I figured that perhaps We can use them to aid Our cause, since Our conventional means of fighting proved ineffective against those Xenomorphs."

Hudson makes a sardonic chuckle "Not without ammo and proper support equipment. One of them needs fuel that we have no way of providing, and the other needs a proper harness and functional hardware." Seryu looked to her side "Koro! Unload!" Koro expanded his mouth and belched out the items that were collected from the Colony. The Marine quickly recognized the contents laid out before him, a supply crate, Shoulder Lamp, and an all too familiar Pulse Rifle.

"Those two are mine." Hudson muttered, as he sorely eyed his weapon and equipment. Koro then snarled, and bared his sharp teeth at the ComTech, while Seryu smirked "These, along with everything else We've salvaged from the Colony, are to be appropriated for Justice's unrelenting fight against Evil." Hudson returned the smirk "Fat chance, that'll happen. Two of the guns are empty, and the third, you have no idea how to use it." Seryu picked up the Smart Gun and pointed it haphazardly at the Marine "Teach me how to wield this arsenal, so that I may finish delivering Justice to the Aliens."

A minute had passed, before Hudson responded "And what's in it for me, Sweet Cheeks? I don't work for free." The auburn haired murderess leered back at him angrily "Isn't it enough to absolve yourself, by helping Us in Our righteous efforts to purge all Evildoers from Our pure and beautiful World!?" Seryu then threw the ComTech an accusing glare "You should be throwing yourself down at Our feet in gratitude for giving You a genuine opportunity to atone for all your misdeeds. Yet instead, you attempt to barter for compensation, like a lowly Mercenary."

Hudson was disgusted at Seryu's line of reasoning. He and his fellow Colonial Marines were more than a team of killers. They were rescue workers who would lay down their lives for the safety of others. Most of his friends, the Sarge, Drake, Dietrich, and others had already given that life on a rescue mission that was doomed from the very start. And, this young woman was shitting on every last one of their sacrifices. Still, the ComTech remained passive. This group is dangerous and unstable, and he'll need to find common ground, in order to hopefully reason with them.

"The Colonial Marines are not your enemy." Hudson declared "The real Enemy is out there, unchecked, and unchallenged. And if They continue to roam loose, then every last one of us will die." The ComTech glanced over all the supplies the Jaegers had managed to scrape together. It's not much, but these people had done well enough against the Aliens, even without this paltry arsenal. Better than how his own team had fared. The Jaegers had gotten so close to success in wiping Them out, a second attempt with the right tools can finish the job. Also, Hudson found it satisfying in learning about the Alien Queen's existence through Kurome's testimony. Now there's a way in stopping the Aliens in Their slimey tracks.

Kill the Queen, Kill the Leadership, Kill the Species.

Hudson indicated Vasquez's Smart Gun in Seryu's metal hands "Alright, I'll walk you through on how to use that weapon. In return, I want you to promise me that you'll quit hunting my friends and help fight the Aliens" Seryu wasted no time in answering "Done. You have my word as an Ally of Justice. No harm will come to your Comrades." She then glanced sidelong to her Commander, and Esdeath quietly nods. The ComTech looked at each Jaeger individually, as they waited on him expectantly.

"Okay." Hudson started "The first thing you need to now about the Aliens, is that the bastards are hard to track, and very stealthy. Infrared doesn't work on Them for some reason, so most Colonial Marine technology had been ineffective. And all our other means of tracking Them have been inaccurate, to say the least." Esdeath crossed her arms "We already know that." Beside her, Run concurred "The Xenomorphs seem to possess a physical trait, with which to conceal Their own thermal signature. That, or They somehow don't generate any body heat at all. All We have to go on, is that only Their movements can he detected."

Hudson cocked an eyebrow "You guys possess Motion Tracking technology?" Seryu displayed her Justice City Detector for the ComTech to see. Run nods and continues "But, even that is limited. We couldn't detect Them until they come at Us for an attack. Makes it hard to foresee an ambush, which They're very fond of performing." Hudson nods in agreement "We use something similar, except our Motion Trackers have built-in actuators that can allow us to adjust out instruments, and make more accurate readings." He then makes a thoughtful face "Those slimebags also tend to leave a mucous trail. If I can determine which luminescent spectrum can highlight the refraction of that resin. Like ultraviolet, for example. I might be able to bring the slime into standing out more within view-"

Kurome steps forth with a frown "You're losing some of Us. Can you please use simple words?" Hudson paused to think "Alright, listen up. I'll start at the beginning, to get you guys on the same page. I'll do my best to explain the technical stuff here and there." He took a deep breath and began talking at length "It all started, when my team and I were docked at Gateway Station, orbiting Earth. We were about go on leave, when new orders came down from the Top. We were to set out towards LV-426, designated Acheron, in order to investigate a sudden loss of communications with the terraforming colony, Hadley's Hope…"

 **Above the Clouds, South of the Empire**

Tatsumi woke up to voices and the clattering of heavy objects. The noises slightly startled him, but he quickly relaxed as the green eyed fighter remembered he is safely aboard the Dropship, and had been sleeping in a passenger seat. And, he wasn't by himself. To his right, Chelsea was nuzzled up against his shoulder, eyes closed, and breathing softly. The doppelganger assassin's head rested above Tatsumi's arm was surprisingly heavy, and made his limb sore. But, he couldn't help but feel reassured at seeing his Comrade's beautiful face looking peaceful and content as she blissfully slumbered next to him.

"At least someone here is getting some decent sleep." Tatsumi commented. Then, he realized something else "Wasn't there also another person sleeping next to me?" Tatsumi recalled that Mine had occupied the other seat. He looked to his left side and saw that was no longer the case. Mine wasn't in that seat anymore. She had gotten up and gone somewhere else.

Tatsumi began to rise from his seat, until he was stopped abruptly when Chelsea unconsciously grasped and held onto his arm. The green eyed fighter had to carefully pry himself out of the sleeping redhead's hold, before standing up to survey his surroundings, and got a look at what his friends and teammates are up to.

Akame stood near the Dropship's cockpit, and was constantly asking Bishop about everything involved with piloting the ship, while the Synthetic Android patiently answered all her inquiries. "Are all these switches and buttons necessary for flying the Ship?" asked the red eyed assassin. Bishop didn't bother looking away from the pilot's controls, as he calmly answered "Absolutely. These instruments require constant monitoring and adjustment during flight, so as to prevent unforeseen contingencies that can put the Dropship and its crew at risk, especially while in combat." Akame glanced over both the Pilot's and Co-Pilot seats "Is it alright for you to fly the Ship all by yourself? The controls look complicated. Can you really handle it?" Bishop makes a quick nod "My system parameters allow me to handle a technical workload that would require 10 individuals to accomplish. I can operate any machine and software at ten times the speed of a normal human." Kurome's Older Sister confidently grinned "So can I." Without looking back at her, the Science Officer beckoned towards the Co-Pilots seat "Feel free to observe me pilot this ship, as much as you want. We'll see how savvy you are with the controls, at a later time." The speedy assassin eagerly strapped herself into the Co-Pilot seat and began to carefully watch Bishop operate the controls.

Leone remained in her seat, reclining, and snoring loudly. From time to time, she would mumble something in her sleep, and make a satisfied smile. Newt had curled up in the seat next to her, and was also sleeping peacefully.

Najenda was standing to one side of the ship, carefully holding a Pulse-Rifle to her shoulder. She would constantly make adjustments to her firing stance, and shake her head "It's no good. It feels too awkward for me to steady it. I may need more time to break my old habits." Beside her, Ripley smiled reassuringly "It won't be hard. This gun's designed to be user-friendly. If all else fails, just squeeze the trigger and spray the bullets in your target's direction. It worked out for me, so far." Night Raid's leader grinned "Much like, how you would aim and fire a shotgun on the quick." She turns to Susanoo, and traded her Pulse-Rifle for the humanoid Imperial Arm's Shotgun. After the tradeoff Susanoo demonstrated his proficiency, by easily loading the weapon and aiming down the sights. Najenda tried shouldering the Shotgun, but shook her head again as her stance still felt uncomfortable. So instead, she sufficed with aiming the gun from her hip. Ripley observed the silver haired woman's struggle with concern, then she called out behind her "Hicks. Isn't there anything you can do, to help Najenda?"

At the back of the Ship, near the weapons cache, Mine and Lubbock were standing at attention while Hicks was busily working on adjustments to the Smart Gun on its rack. After completing the adjustments, the Corporal slid back the Smart Gun's charging handle with an audible _Sh-chk!_ Afterwards, he looked up and responded to Ripley's question "Be there in a sec. Let me finish things up with Mine and Lubbock here." He then turns to the two members of Night Raid before him. "Alright, where were we?" Mine raised her hand and answered "You were just about to show me how to handle that weapon in front of you." The Marine made a thoughtful expression "Got it. Okay, this here is the M56 Smart Gun, a man-portable heavy machine gun that utilizes advance tracking technology and specialized equipment in order to turn one person into a high-end mobile assault platform." he then attached the weapon onto a stabilizing articulation arm at a nearby work bench, and smoothly guided the barrel around in a sweeping motion.

"The stabilization assembly is designed to distribute the entire weight of the gun onto the user's legs." explained Hicks "So, maintaining a centered balance is crucial to handling a weapon such as this. The key to using this weapon is to be fluid and efficient with your body movements in order to bring out the utmost potential for laying waste to the enemy. A high degree of reflex and coordination is necessary to fully mastering the Smart Gun. Which is why smartgunners are well respected and feared for using the weapon. They are the most ruthless and lethal, yet also calm and graceful breed of Marines to fill our ranks."

Mine gazed in awe at the Smart Gun in Hicks's hands "Tell me, what to I need to be an accomplished smartgunner?" The Corporal stowed the weapon back on its rack, and produced a small booklet before presenting it to Mine "To use the Smart Gun properly, some extensive training is required. But, you can start by reading up on the weapon's manual, and learning about every component this rig includes. Each piece is as vital to the Smart Gun, as it's ammo. So, study up, and get an understanding of what each component can do." The Genius Sniper eagerly snatched up the booklet from the Marine's hand, and started busying herself with the reading of each page in detail.

Hicks then turned to Lubbock "I wanted to have you, Leone, and Chelsea get started with learning how to handle firearms. But, seeing as the other two are still asleep, I guess I'll have to go over it at a later date." The Marine went over to a nearby box and began to open it "In the meantime, try and get acquainted with this piece." he reached inside the box and pulled out a sidearm. "This Service Pistol used to be standard issue, before we began phasing it out with the Combat Pistols like the one I gave to Akame. Another difference between both guns, is this one holds less ammo, and is a little heavier. But, the good news is this one has a lot more punch than what Akame's using. It should come in handy if you find yourself battling tough opponents." Hicks offers the gun, some clips of ammo, and a shoulder holster to the green haired assassin who cautiously accepts. He checks the weapon's sights, and says "Appreciated, Hicks.", before trying on and adjusting the shoulder holster. When finished, the crafty young man slid his jacket back on, and cleverly concealed the holster and weapon. The Corporal grins, and started walking towards the front of the ship "Now, let me see what I can do to help your Boss."

Hicks walked up to Najenda, and gave her a dubious look "Trying to learn how to aim and shoot, as a southpaw? Not sure if I can help with that." He then turns towards the Ship's cockpit, and whistles "Hey, Bishop. Come over here, real quick."

Bishop took a minute to set the Dropship on autopilot, then climbed out of his seat, and went to see what Hicks wanted. The Corporal indicated towards Najenda and spoke "Is there anything you can think of, to help Najenda's situation?" the Science Officer examined Night Raid's leader, and had a closer look at her eyepatch and prosthetic arm.

"I might have something for you to use." Bishop announced "We just need to get to the Sulaco." Hicks held up a hand and shook his head "Soon, Bishop. Let's go back to the Hadley Colony first, and grab what We needed. Then We'll make a beeline for the Sulaco, without delay." He gives Najenda an insistent glare "Right?" Night Raid's leader first looked hesitant, but then conceded "We should contact the Revolutionary Army, first. And let them know of Our mission's success, and Our intended detour."

Hicks was already giving the synthetic Android instructions "You heard her, Bishop. Get Night Raid's allies on the horn, and We'll fill them in on what Our plans are." Bishop nodded, and went to a computer terminal to reestablish communications with the Revolutionary Army.

 **Jaegers' Camp, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

The Jaegers were gathered around Hudson, as the ComTech described the last details of his team's encounter and standoff with the Aliens, and deteriorating state of the Atmosphere Processor. "The Processing Station is powered by a fusion reactor that is capable of generating about 1.0 terawatt of electricity. A power source like that requires constant cooling from an array of heat exchangers and cooling towers. When the fight broke out within the Hive, a stray bullet must have ruptured the cooling system. Matters grew worse, when Ferro rolled the Dropship into the side of the Plant, and incurred more damage. At that point, there was no turning back." Hudson elaborated "Bishop predicted, that the Processing Station would reach critical overload and detonate once containment failure has been reached. The force of the blast was going to leave the entire Colony into a smoking crater." The Marine glanced up a the sky "That's when we decided to try to find a way off-planet. But, before we had a chance to leave, those damned Bugs got past our defenses and jumped us from above the ceiling partitions. We made a break for it, and tried to get to Medical." He held up his bound hands "Everyone had already fallen back, while I was covering their retreat. One of Them came up through the floor and took me by surprise. I blacked out, and when I came to, I was here in you guys' camp, wearing chains."

Run stepped forward and inquired "You said the Hadley Colony was approaching imminent destruction by the Atmosphere Processor's explosion. Could that be the reason for the Colony being sent to Our World, in its current state?" Hudson shrugs "Don't know anything pertaining to that. But the condition of the buildings definitely demonstrates a post-thermonuclear blast, albeit with a significantly reduced force. Whatever happened, it spared the Colony from being leveled outright."

Seryu was skeptical "How do We know, You're not responsible for all this destruction yourselves?" Hudson was affronted by the accusation "Give me a fucking break, will ya!? I've already told you how all this shit went down. Why is it so fucking hard to believe? Even I don't get, as to how or why all of this had to happen. You're welcome by the way, for explaining to you on how to refurbish and reload that Smart Gun." _Sh-chk!_ The amber eyed murderess cocked the Smart Gun's charging handle, and swiveled the weapon around to feel its weight. She turned a deaf ear to the Marine's crass argument, and made a menacing smirk as she imagined a certain pink haired target for the weapon to shoot at.

Wave faced his auburn haired Comrade and interjected on the ComTech's behalf "I was down there near the reactor, Seryu. It was all blown out, and kept radiating extreme heat. Not even the ice made by Our Commander, could dampen the temperatures." The sailor Jaeger nodded towards Hudson "He's telling the truth, as far as what I had seen."

Kurome stood beside Wave and leered at the ComTech "How can we be sure neither you or Hicks know a way of locating each other? We know he's out there, trying to find his teammates." Hudson gave her a morbid stare "Hicks has every reason to think I'm dead. He won't come looking for me, I can promise you that."

Esdeath went over Hudson's story "It seems you really don't know the whereabouts of your friend Hicks. But, if you're lying to me, I'll know right away." She casually rests her hand on the hilt of her rapier. Hudson observed the subtle threat, and responds "Easy, chill out, lady. I have a way of proving what I say to you is the truth." He sees the Portable Terminal tucked beneath Run's arm. "Hey pretty boy." the ComTech indicated towards the General's Aide "You know how to use that?" Run looks down at the device, and answers with a nod.

Hudson returns the nods and resumes talking "Okay. Take my helmet over there, look for a cord within the lining, and jack it into the proper port on the Computer Terminal." Run does as he instructed, and followed through on the Marine's directions. The screen on the Portable Terminal lights up, and a message scrolls across "INITIATE PLAYBACK OF RECORDED FOOTAGE? Y/N" before Run can press a key, a voice sounded off through the Terminal speakers

(" _This is Corporal Hicks, calling HQ. Do you read me? Over_.")

Everyone inside the tent froze and turned their attention towards the Terminal, after hearing Hicks' voice spoke through the speakers. Esdeath's hand was slowly reaching for her rapier "Care to explain to me, what that's about?" Hudson then answered apprehensively "Hicks is broadcasting over a long distance channel. My headset is simply piggybacking off the transmission within the same channel, prior to reaching the receiver." Before anyone can say anything, another voice sounded out from the speaker.

("This is Revolutionary Army HQ. We receive you loud and clear. Over." Said the individual responding to Hicks' call. Hicks continued speaking "It's good to hear from you. I have Commander Najenda of Night Raid on the line, with a mission update. Over." A brief moment before the other person responded "Go ahead. Over." Najenda's voice then began to sound out through the transmission "This is Najenda reporting. The Mission was a success. Borick has been eliminated. The Path of Peace is now gearing up towards battling against the Empire." The individual on the other side of the line congratulated her "Excellent! High Command will be most pleased. We may now proceed with the plan, and engage the Empire in all out war. Please return to base, and await Night Raid's next assignment." This time, Hicks cut in and spoke up "Negative. Night Raid will take a brief detour with us Marines, before going back." The Revolutionary personnel began to argue "What!? Why!? You are all required to return at once! You are needed here, especially now of all times." The Corporal was unfazed "We have determined the whereabouts of important information regarding the Aliens. We're on our way now to retrieve it." Najenda talked once more in a calm tone "After we've completed the errand at Hadley's Hope, Night Raid will most certainly come back and report for duty." A minute passed, before the person receiving the transmission replied "Very well, I'll relay your decision to High Command. We'll begin preparations for the upcoming battles in the meantime. But please, hurry back as soon as possible.")

None of the Jaegers said a word, as they all listened to the radio transmission being broadcasted from Hudson's helmet onto the Portable Terminal. But each one of then came to the same realization, after hearing Hicks and Najenda talking together. The Colonial Marines are working alongside Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army.

Hudson's blood ran cold with renewed dread. "Hicks!" he screamed "It's Hudson! Clear the line, and switch to an encrypted frequency-"

 _Thwack!_ The side of Hudson's skull exploded with pain, and his vision rapidly began to fade. That last thing he sees before completely seeing black, was Seryu's fist held out in front. Her face was hideously warped and sinister-looking. "What the Fuck are you People…" Hudson croaked out, as his consciousness fades. The ComTech can then hear Seryu's maniacal remark "We are the Jaegers. Warriors of Justice in service of Our glorious Empire. And you are a Criminal for aiding and abetting those rebellious Villains of Night Raid, along with your fellow Colonial Marines. And We are going to send every last one of you Sinners to Hell, where you belong!" The ComTech's shoulders slumped, as his consciousness left him. Back at the Terminal, the radio transmission continued on.

("We'll be arriving at the Hadley Colony in the morning." explained Hicks "Add an hour to accomplish our objective, plus however long it takes to return to the Sulaco, and load up. We should be back at base within the better part of the afternoon. Over and out." The broadcast cuts out to the sounds of static, and no more voices sounded off.)

Esdeath turned to her Subordinates, wearing an evil grin "It's seems we've netted ourselves a great find after all." One by one, the Jaegers nodded in agreement with their leader.

Seryu stood over Hudson and chuckled happily "Snack Time, Koro! I'll cut him open, to make sure he didn't have one in him. Then, I'll let you have the rest." Esdeath stepped in front of Seryu and her biological Imperial Arm "Now is not the time." She turned to address Everyone "We need to get ready to welcome Our new visitors, when they arrive. That means, We're gonna have a lot to do tonight, so I want all of you to follow my instructions closely, and ready yourselves for battle afterwards." The blue haired General got affirmative nods all around.

Esdeath was about to issue orders, before the ground beneath them began to slowly rumble and shake. "What's going on?" Seryu asked in bewilderment "Is it an earthquake?" Run stood beside her and spoke reassuringly "It's most definitely not, Seryu" he then glanced at his Commander with an esteemed expression. Wave and Kurome glanced at each other, and nodded to one another to show they both well understood what was causing the ground to tremble. It was the increasingly steady volume of a marching formation.

 **Above the Clouds, South of the Empire**

The radiance of morning dawn shown through the clouds, as the UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship tore across the sky. Its pilot sat in the cockpit, and worked the controls in guiding the Ship towards a certain destination. The Dropship's other passengers roused from their sleep, and began preparing for the day ahead of them.

Mine swiveled the Smart Gun, as she swept it around in a patterned movement "This is awesome! I feel like this gun is as much a part of me than my own arms and legs." Behind her, Hicks was busily measuring the pink haired gunner's small frame, and made adjustments to a smartgunner harness he was holding.

When Hicks was finally finished, he presented the smartgunner harness to Mine "Here. Try this on." The Genius Sniper graciously accepted the apparel, slipped it on. Even with her pink dress and cardigan bunching up within the seams, the harness still fitted relatively loose. "Can't you fix this?" Mine asked, but the Marine only shook his head "That's about as tight as I can secure those straps. The rest will have to be up to you." he then makes a grin "So grow up fast, and fill out that vest naturally." The pink haired assassin blushed, and began swatting Hicks' arm in annoyance.

When she calmed down, both Mine and Hicks got to working with the rest of the Smart Gun assembly. The gun was coupled onto the harness' stabilizing arm, a fresh power cell was plugged into the weapon's operating system, and the Corporal fitted a HUD tracking headset around Mine's head, taking care not to snag the pink haired gunner's twintails.

After Mine was properly outfitted, she hefted the Smart Gun, and engaged the headset's tracking display. All around her, the other occupants within the Dropship appeared with targeting reticle boxes highlighting each individual. "Wow!" exclaimed Mine "So, this is the Smart Gun's tracking system? It's just like the Scanning Visor, on my Imperial Arm, Pumpkin." Hicks makes an intrigued expression "Then, getting used to this weapon shouldn't be an issue. Right?" Mine nods in confirmation, then she started walking around with the Smart Gun staying level with each step.

"The gun is programmed to home in on the nearest available target." Explained Hicks "Just guide the aiming reticle towards a target, and the weapon will automatically align to provide an accurate shot. The gun will remain locked on until a target is completely destroyed, or its operator manually forces the sight away from the target's tracking signature. Hence the name Smart Gun. It can do everything, but pull its own trigger." Mine lowered the weapon and turned to face him "What does it shoot?" The Corporal reached into a box, pulled out a spare Smart Gun magazine drum, and answered "10x28 mm caseless. An armor-piercing round similar to the 10x24 mm used by the Pulse-Rifle. The difference, is a higher explosives yield in the 10x28s, and an option for setting fuses. Unlike the Pulse-Rifle's 10x24s, which use delayed fuses, so that the round may be allowed time to penetrate an armored target, and detonate to inflict added damage, which would not work well against a soft target that can allow the bullet to pass straight through without enough time to detonate effectively, the 10x28s selective fuses can be electronically set by the Smart Gun's controls, and can then be rigged to explode on impact, rather than penetration."

Hicks and Mine both thought back on their battle against the Rakshasa Demons, and how their respective adversaries took advantage of the Pulse-Rifle's shortcomings, which render the weapon ineffective towards the Body Manipulation technique. A Smart Gun wouldn't have been hampered by the same issue. It would have just needed to switch its ammunition settings. With a shrug neither person didn't bother to dwell on it any further.

Mine glanced over at Pumpkin's case beneath her seat, and wondered in afterthought whether Pumpkin would have been better at dispatching enemies like the Rakshasa Demons. "Maybe if I had used Pumpkin on that woman instead?" She then concluded that it didn't matter. All of the Rakshasa Demons are dead, and her current line of thinking was therefore moot.

Mine's gaze drifted onto the seat beside hers, where Tatsumi had sat during takeoff. It was empty now, with the green eyed fighter up and about near the weapons cache. He was demonstrating how to work the Shotgun to Chelsea.

"You load the shells in, like this…" Tatsumi had the Shotgun turned upwards, and was visibly loading ammo shells into the loading tube. Chelsea paid close attention, with keen interest to both the weapon, and the young man holding it. Her cheeks were slightly blushed. "And, you just simply work the pump-action, to load and eject the shells." The green eyed fighter was avidly tutoring his comrade, and failed to notice the young woman's weird looks. Only Mine had noticed it from a distance, and rolled her eyes in irritation. She then turned back to what see was doing.

Mine stared down at the Smart Gun assembly "What if I had this, during that time…" she found herself thinking back on the night she had lost Sheele. If she was using a Smart Gun, instead of Pumpkin, would that monster Imperial Arm, Koro gotten the better of her? Koro was a soft target, able to absorb countless forms of attacks, and regenerate afterwards. But what about a rapid barrage of explosive tipped rounds from a consistently accurate heavy machine gun that can remain locked on, despite the user temporarily stunned from a blast of sound?

"Mine. You okay?" Hicks placed a hand on the pink haired gunner's shoulder, and gently shook her out of her brooding daze. Mine quietly nodded, and hefted the Smart Gun once more. "What should I do if I'm caught in a situation where the Smart Gun is rendered unusable?" The Corporal merely pointed to a small strap along the side of the weapon harness "Pull on that, and the entire assembly will unbuckle and slip right off. It's that simple." In a demonstration, he gave the strap a tug, and the entire Smart Gun rig did indeed slide off of Mine's person, and clattered to the floor.

Now free of the weapon assembly, Mine gave Hicks her thanks, gathered up and stowed the Smart Gun, then walked over to join the rest of her comrades. "Come here, Tatsumi. Let me show you how to use a Pulse-Rifle and Flamethrower." The Genius Sniper wrapped her arm around Tatsumi's, and pulled the green eyed fighter away from a perturbed Chelsea. Hicks approached the redhead and spoke "I'll do the same for you and Lubbock, alright?" Chelsea takes one last look towards Tatsumi who was shouldering a Pulse-Rifle under Mine's instruction, and conceded.

Taking the Shotgun away from Chelsea's hand, Hicks then selected one Pulse-Rifle and one Flamethrower from their respective racks, and handed them to her and Lubbock. Hicks looks over at Leone who was reclining in one of the Ship's passenger seats, and growled "You really should start learning this too, Leone." But, the voluptuous blonde waved the Corporal away, and responded "I'll be fine, Hicks. I'm more of a close-quarters fighter like Akame, anyways." The Marine sighs and decides to let it go, and instead busy himself with teaching Chelsea and Lubbock.

Off to the side, Ripley and Najenda were discussing over their plans, with Susanoo in attendance. "Alright, Ripley. So tell me again, how We plan to do this." Asked Night Raid's leader. The former Warrant Officer nods and explains "It's pretty much straightforward. We'll land at the Hadley Colony, and have one group go in and find what We need, while the other group remain behind to defend the ship. Once We get what We came for, We'll head straight back to the ship, and launch without delay. Then, We'll go dock with the Sulaco, to refuel the Dropship, gather supplies, and determine a way of locating the Derelict. Once We accomplished all that, We'll wipe out whatever eggs remain in that vessel, and then go Our separate ways after returning your team to the Revolutionary Army."

Najenda was taken aback "Are you really not going to aid Us in the coming War?" Ripley was resolute "Our priorities are different that Night Raid's. We'll supply you with weapons and equipment, for the war effort. But, the bulk of our arsenal must remain geared towards the eradication of the Xenomorphs. As soon as I am certain the Aliens are no more, I'll be sure to direct my full attention in helping your rebellion. This is the only way, Najenda. Please say, you understand."

Najenda was slightly disappointed with Ripley's decision, but nodded in agreement. She knew this was the only way for it all to work out. There would be no point in winning the War and overthrowing the Empire, only to let the entire World fall to ruin at the hands of the Aliens. They need to carefully prepare for any contingency, and cover every angle. Or risk losing Everything. "Very Well. My team will follow you as far as locating the Derelict. Then, Night Raid will have to rejoin Our allies, and help in the upcoming battles. If all goes to plan, the War will be over with quickly. Once that happens, you can count on Us in helping you hunt down the Aliens, and find your way back home."

Ripley smiles at hearing Najenda's reply "Thank you Najenda. I'm glad we've met you and your team. I hope We all make it through this together, and reach a better tomorrow." Najenda nods in agreement "That, I can be certain of. And no one will stand in the way of that. I'm sure of it."

Over the Ship's PA system, Bishop's voice blared over the speakers "Places Everyone. We're approaching Hadley's Hope."

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

The Dropship's thrusters roared, as it touched down on the landing grid outside of the Colony proper. In a high-pitched whine, the loading ramp lowered to allow the Ship's occupants to disembark. First came Hicks, followed by Ripley with Newt straddled to her side, then came Najenda, Susanoo, Akame, Tatsumi, and Mine.

Leone, Lubbock, and Chelsea stayed behind to defend the Ship, as per Najenda's orders. And Bishop remained in the pilot's seat, giving directions to Hicks over the comms ("The Hangar is out past Operations. Go through East Lock, and it should lead you right into the garage.")

("Understood.") answered Ripley ("What should We be looking for, once We get there?") The Synthetic Android then specified ("You're looking for a slim, rectangular device located beneath the dashboard of the Tractor driver's controls. Disconnect it from the main hub, and handle it with care when moving it. Any damage done to it could risk corrupting the data, and We'd lose Our one lead in finding the Derelict.") Najenda and her Subordinates were listening to Bishop's instructions through their headsets, and they all gave Ripley and Hicks a thumbs up, to show that they got the message.

("Alright, Bishop. We're down and clear.") Hicks announced ("Close the ramp as soon as you can, and wait for our return.") he instructed ("Keep the engines warm, just in case We've run into trouble, and have to leave quickly.")

("Roger.") Bishop replied, while pressing a switch ("Ramp closing…") With another hydraulic whine, the loading ramp on the Dropship retracted and closed shut.

With the Dropship now secure and running on idle, Hicks and the others turned around, and made ready to begin their search. "Alright, listen up Everyone. Let's get in formation. Mine, you take point. Akame and I will cover the flanks, and Tatsumi and Su will be the rear guard. Ripley, Najenda, and Newt, you three stay in the middle.

Everyone nodded affirmatively, and moved into position. Mine stood in front of the group, completely outfitted with the Smart Gun rig. To the sides stood Hicks and Akame with the former shouldering his Pulse-Rifle, and the latter having her Combat Pistol drawn. Susanoo and an Incursio armored Tatsumi brought up the rear with both wielding Pulse-Rifles and had their Shotguns slung across their backs. Ripley set Newt down beside her, and brandished her Pulse-Rifle/Flamethrower combo weapon. "It'll be alright Newt." Ripley assured the little girl "We just need you to point out your parents' vehicle, and that's it. We'll be out of here shortly. I promise." Newt was quiet, as she eyed the Colony buildings nervously. Wanting to have some sense of safety, she dons Spectator's headpiece, and set it upon her brow. She then gave Ripley a thumbs-up to show that she's ready to proceed. On the other side of Newt walked Najenda, with Pumpkin's case slung over her shoulders as safekeeping for Mine, and a Flamethrower strapped to her back since it was the easiest weapon for her to use without needing much accuracy.

With Everybody in position and ready, the group marched forward, and made their way towards the Colony's East Lock. They've reached the entrance in no time, and Hicks cautiously approached the heavy set of doors. The Marine held up his Motion Tracker, and panned it out in front of him. No signal blips appeared. It was either empty on the other side of the sliding doors, or whatever might be inside wasn't moving. Still, they had to chance getting indoors. With determination, the Corporal pressed a switch on the side of the doors. And nothing happened.

"Power must be out." Hicks surmised "Why the hell did I think otherwise?" With a shrug, the Corporal turned back towards the group "Tatsumi. Su. You guys mind giving me a hand?" The silver armored fighter and the humanoid Imperial Arm both walked up to the doors, and placed their hands between the seams. "On three, Tatsumi…" Susanoo instructed "One…Two…Three-" the large doors groaned with resistance, as they were slowly pulled open.

After the doors were opened wide enough, Tatsumi and Susanoo stepped back into formation, and Hicks beckoned Mine to come forward. The pink haired smartgunner marched up to the opened passage, and calmly swiveled her weapon side to side. "Remember, Mine. Nobody's supposed to be here. So, if you track something with the Smart Gun, unload on It until It's no longer showing on your scope. Don't take any chances." Mine nods, and focused on the image in the scope of her headset.

"Nothing." Mine declared "I've got nothing. This place is empty." Hicks double checked his Motion Tracker to see if anything had decided to move, but the screen remained negative. Finally, without uttering a word, the Corporal quietly motioned for Everyone to proceed inside.

The group entered the Colony Hangar, and steadily moved along the dark, silent corridors. Light coming from Hicks' Shoulder Lamp and the two flashlights Akame and Najenda were carrying, provided decent illumination to their surroundings. Crawler parts and maintenance tools rested on shelves and in bins along the corridor walls. The smell of machine oil and axle grease hung heavily in the air.

"We must be in the Tractor Service Shop." Ripley explained "The Garage shouldn't be far from here." Just as the former Warrant Officer had said, the group soon found themselves in a very spacious room, with a variety of Tractors, Crawlers, Cranes, Forklifts, and Loaders parked in designated spaces.

"Here We are…" announced Hicks, and Ripley motioned for Newt "Go on, Newt. Show us which one is your parents' Crawler." Newt gazed around the Garage, and looked over the many vehicles. Shortly afterwards, she pointed out to one parked in a corner "There. That one. I remember Mom parking us near the side, so they can take my Dad to the doctors faster." Her tone was bitter and sad. She'd look like she was on the verge of weeping, but she didn't. She had ran out of tears, a long time ago.

Ripley gathered the little girl up, and held her close. She then turned to Hicks, and nodded to him "Alright. Get to it." The Marine nodded back, and silently approached the side of the Tractor. He then ascended the steps and opened the cab. After feeling beneath the dashboard, the Corporal came away with a rectangular device like what Bishop had described.

Everyone gathered around Hicks, as he blew the dust off the navigational computer, and observed it for damages. Satisfied with its condition, he presented it to Everybody around him "This is it." He said "Inside this computer, is Our only clue in finding the Derelict. Let's return to the Dropship, link up with the Sulaco, and see if We can use this data to determine the Derelict's location." He got nods all around.

Hicks pressed his hand to his headset, and spoke into the mic ("Bishop. It's Hicks. We've got the package, and are on our way back. Do you copy?") Over the communication network, Bishop made a reply ("Affirmative. Beginning preparations for takeoff. Please get here as soon as you can-" _Fssshh!_ ) A sound of static suddenly came over the transmission, and the Corporal spoke up with concern ("What happened Bishop? Bishop!? Do you read me, Bishop!? Over!") The Synthetic Android's words were barely audible as it garbled over the radio frequency.

 _("controls…not responding…multiple…incoming…entire valley…" Fssshh!)_ Once again, static overtook the transmission.

"The Dropship's in trouble!" Hicks declared, as he lugged the navigational computer over his shoulder, and picked up his Pulse-Rifle "We need to get back there, double-time!" Najenda stepped up, and commanded the group "This way, Everyone! C'mon!" She began jogging back down the corridor they came from, with the rest of the group following close behind.

Night Raid's leader was fast approaching the East Lock doors, and suddenly stopped in her tracks along with Everybody else. There in front of them, the open doors of East Lock, and the corridor before it, was completely blocked off with walls of ice.

"Oh No…" gasped Najenda. She immediately turned away, and yelled for everybody to fall back. Much to Everyone's surprise, the ice began to rapidly spread along the floors, walls, and ceiling of the corridor, and came straight for them. With no where else to go, the group desperately ran back towards the garage portion of the Hangar.

"We need to get outside! Right Now!" Najenda yelled.

Ahead of the group, Hicks called out to them "Let's get out through the North Lock. We can then cut right around the side of the Colony, and head straight for the Dropship." Recalling, the direction Hicks had described, Ripley scooped up Newt, and carried her on her side like before. "This way, Everyone!" she called out, as she took up the lead, and ran into an adjacent corridor.

Akame followed close behind Ripley, with Tatsumi and Susanoo coming right after, and Najenda, Hicks and Mine coming up from behind. The Corporal looked back at Mine, and noticed that the Genius Sniper was having a hard time keeping up, due to being weighed down by the heavy Smart Gun.

"Mine! Ditch the weapon!" Hicks ordered. Without hesitating, Mine tugged hard on the emergency release strap, and the Smart Gun harness fell away from her almost instantly, taking the entire assembly with it, as the weapon clattered to the floor, and was immediately frozen over by the trailing ice.

"It's catching up to Us!" Mine screamed. In front of her, Hicks looked ahead, and spotted Najenda running before him with her Flamethrower, and Pumpkin's case still slung over her shoulders. "Najenda! Lay down a suppressing fire! Burn it with the Incinerator!" Najenda whirled around, and hoisted the Flamethrower with her left arm.

As soon as Mine and Hicks got clear, the leader of Night Raid let out a stream of orange flame. The heat of napalm fire scorched against the oncoming ice, and halted its spread. "It's working!" Najenda called out, and then she tossed Pumpkin's case over to Mine, before they continued running to catch up with the others.

At the front of the group, Ripley can already see the set of doors leading out through North Lock. And watched in horror, as ice began to form around the outer doors the same way it did to East Lock. _Fwooosh!_ Ripley unleashed a jet of blue flames from her Flamethrower, and doused the doorway ahead of them. The ice was instantly vaporized, and the heavy doors started to melt from the extreme heat. But the melting doors weren't coming down fast enough, and Everybody will still be trapped inside.

"Su! Tatsumi! Help me blast it open!" Ripley yelled. The two members of Night Raid came up beside her, and readied their Grenade Launchers. _Plunk! Plunk! Plunk! KABOOM!_ Three grenades were simultaneously launched at the doorway, and had blown the passageway completely wide open. Daylight filtered into the corridor as Everyone ran closer and closer to the exit.

The first ones out, were Tatsumi and Akame, followed by Susanoo and Ripley carrying Newt. Hicks and Mine were next, then finally came Najenda still dousing the path behind them with fire.

"That's enough, Najenda! Let's go!" Hicks called back, and Night Raid's leader slung the Flamethrower across her back, then ran at full speed around the side of the Colony buildings to keep up with her team. Only to bump hard against the standing figures of Hicks and Mine as they stood in her way. "What are you waiting for! Let's get out-" Najenda stopped talking, once she laid eye on what made the whole group stop and stare in front of them.

The Dropship was completely encased in ice.

Inside the cockpit, Bishop was frantically working at the controls, trying to remedy the Ship's current state. From within the bowels of the Ship, dull banging can be heard, as Leone tried to force the frozen ramp open, using her own Imperial Arm. But to no avail.

"How did this-" Ripley started, but Akame cut her off, and pointed beyond the spectacle "Look!" Her Comrades looked around in various directions, and saw what caught the red eyed assassin's attention.

Imperial Soldiers.

They stood in ranks, side by side, surrounding all along the Valley's borders. They numbered in the thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands. There was no way to count, they were just too many. They marched in unison, causing the entire Valley floor to shake, as they closed in. And at the front of their formation, facing their trapped quarry from the direction of the Atmosphere Processor, were the Jaegers.

"Night Raid! Your day of Judgment is finally here!" Seryu bellowed triumphantly. Up on her shoulder, Koro leered down and growled menacingly. Mine drew Pumpkin from its case, and muttered back with all the hate she can muster "Seryu Ubiquitous…"

Kurome called out to Akame "Hi, Sis. I've finally found you." The Older Sister passively stared back at her, careful not to show her conflicted feelings, as she steadied her Combat Pistol "Kurome…" _Kr-chk!_

Wave, clad in the black armor of Grand Chariot, called out from within his helmet "Wielder of Incursio! You will not escape, this time!" From inside Incursio's helmet, Tatsumi muttered to himself "Looks like it can't be avoided. Can I actually beat him?"

Run hovered above his teammates, on Mastema's wings "Surrender, all of you. You have no chance against our forces." Hicks worked the pump-action on his Grenade Launcher "Wanna bet!" _Ch-chk!_

Esdeath pleasantly smiled at them "It's been a long time, Najenda, but it's still good to see you. And you too, Corporal Hicks. It was rather rude of you to ditch us back then, just when we were about to get well acquainted." The Marine snarled back at her "I'll pass. I've got more important things to do, than converse with lowly sycophants such a yourself."

Esdeath ignored Hicks' remark, and kept talking "I'd never would have thought I'd find the both of you at the same time. Since when did a group of assassins started working alongside a military unit from another world?" Night Raid's leader shuddered at the Jaegers' leader's familiar tone, but she refused to let the blue haired woman see her in distress. As calm a demeanor as she can maintain, Najenda replied "Didn't expect to find you here, Esdeath. Much less, you're entire army. How did you manage to get them all the way down south, without the Revolutionary Army noticing?"

The sapphire eyed General continued to smile "I suspected your rebel spies were mostly occupied with helping Night Raid toward assassinating Borick. And those that remain would've been keeping watch of our movements along the main roads throughout Imperial territory. So, I made a road of my own. I just simply froze a major river that flowed south through the Capitol, until it was solid enough for an army to march on it." Esdeath's smile became a cruel sneer "I used the same tactic, back when we defeated the Ban Tribe. Don't you remember? I froze a lake in a similar fashion, so that our forces can catch the enemy unawares."

Najenda tried her best not to visualize the memory of that horrid affair. Back when she came to realize the full extent of Esdeath's sadistic nature. "I only remember the atrocities that happened afterwards! So much brutality and suffering occurred that day, all because of You!"

Esdeath merely shrugged and continued to speak "You seem to be having difficulty recalling all the times we spent together. But, I look forward to catching up on all of our lost time. In the Torture Chamber."

"Newt. Listen to me very carefully." Ripley murmured to the little girl beside her "There's something I need you to do, and I need you to do it as quickly as you can…"

Esdeath then drew her rapier, and held it forward "It was a fun strategy game of playing cat and mouse. But, I'm afraid the game's over for all of you. And I bet, you are all wondering, how did I know you'd be coming here to Hadley's Hope, and managed to stage an ambush. You will find out in due time." She then offered her other hand out towards them "Come. I shall personally escort you all to the Torture Chamber-" It was at this time, that Ripley stepped out in front, and spoke in a commanding tone "You will do no such thing."

Nobody said a word after seeing unfamiliar person stand up to the General, in a bold fashion. Even Esdeath was taken by surprise by this woman's action. "And who might you be?" she asked curiously. The woman stood straight, and answered calmly "I'm Lieutenant First Class, Ellen Ripley of the United States Colonial Marine Corps." She then gestured to Najenda and her Subordinates "And these people are under my employ and protection."

"Ripley, What are you doing?" Najenda whispered. Ripley inched towards her, and whispered back "It's time to start a new game. And I'm shuffling the deck…"

Among their ranks, several Imperial Soldiers of Esdeath's army began to snicker and laugh outright. Even Esdeath managed a small chuckle "Is that so? Well then, Lieutenant. It seems that you have found yourself in quite a predicament. You see, Night Raid is considered an enemy of the Empire, and I have orders to eliminate them by any means necessary." She then pointed a finger at her "That includes eliminating all who aided and abetted them."

Much to Everyone's shock, Ripley just smiled "It seems you've got it all wrong General. Night Raid is actually aiding me and my cause. It has nothing to do with you, or the Empire you serve." Esdeath gave her a serious look "Explain." Ripley gestured to Hicks beside her "I think my Comrade Hicks had already explained to you the reason why we're here, and What the Colonial Marines are searching for."

The Jaegers' leader didn't take long to figure out what she meant "You're referring to the Aliens. Aren't you?" the former Warrant Officer nodded "I know, you and your Jaegers had a run-in with the Xenomorphs before. And, that you came this close in annihilating the entire species." She added "Would you like another opportunity to finish the job?"

Esdeath was dumbfounded "What do you mean by that?" she demanded. "I'm saying, that I'm offering you another chance at facing the Aliens" Ripley specified "So that you can once again try and destroy Them."

That piqued the blue haired woman's interest.

"What are you proposing?" Esdeath replied. Ripley began to explain "Bury the Hatchet. You will cease hostilities with the Colonial Marines and Night Raid, and establish a truce. Then, I'll take you to Our ship, and show you the whereabouts of the Aliens. And finally, I'll outfit your entire group with weapons, equipment, and support from Our technology, to help you to exterminate the Xenomorphs once and for all."

Esdeath's tone became dark and sinister "And, If I refuse?" Ripley's expression remained calm and determined "Then We fight. We fight until the last person falls. Then Our Lieutenant Gorman will have no choice, but use Our warship, the U.S.S. Sulaco, to level this entire continent, in order to keep the Aliens from spreading. And I can guarantee, You People will not be able to withstand orbital bombardment." Every one of the Jaegers briefly looked up at the sky, as if searching for the ship they've learned about from Hudson. In his debrief, the ComTech did not leave out the ship's destructive capabilities, including its capacity to "Nuke the entire site from orbit" They now know, Ripley's threat seemed plausible. All eyes rested on Ripley, as she brandished the Pulse-Rifle/Flamethrower readily "The choice is yours…"

Esdeath stared at Ripley, and weighed her options. It stands to reason, these Colonial Marines do posses a ship that might have the firepower to pose a threat. But, is it all true or lies? She couldn't tell if the other woman was bluffing or not. From Ripley, there was no sense of Killing Intent, nor was there any sense of fear. Did that mean the Jaegers' leader wasn't intimidating to the former Warrant Officer? There was no show of hesitation, only bitter unwavering resolve in her eyes. Desperation and loss were the only feelings Ripley had left to her. She wasn't afraid to die, neither was she afraid to suffer before it. She had been so close to that threshold, many times before. Now, she's convinced that her death today will save the lives of so many others around the world. This made Esdeath realize why this woman is so dangerous than all the other adversaries she's fought against. This woman has nothing to lose.

The blue haired General then smiled menacingly, as her choice became obvious. "Why kill this woman today, when you could do it tomorrow? I can hunt down, and wipe out the Aliens, like I've always planned to. Then, I can take spend my time playing with Night Raid and the Colonial Marines, and break each individual, starting with Ripley here. It would be a very long time, before I ever get bored..." she looked straight into the Lieutenant's dark eyes with her sapphire ones, and gave her an answer

"Deal."

Chapter 8 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, and any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, New Rivalries are formed, Old Grudges resurface, and Scores need Settling, as an Unstable Truce quickly comes apart. Who's ideals will prevail? A Ruthless Killer's philosophy in Survival of the Fittest? A Hurting Youth's desire for Retribution and Vengeance? A Deranged Murderer's twisted Notion of Justice? Or, a Mother's love for Her Child?


	10. Chapter 9

To All Readers: Wow, it's already been a full year since I started the fic. I only regret that it took this long for this particular Chapter to come out. This Chapter is very special and important to me, because It's one of the few scenarios that I had always envisioned for years, and wanted to write it out. It's the sole reason why I started this fiction in the first place. Everything I've written so far was meant to lead up to this Showdown, that I always wanted to make happen. So I ask in earnest, for you all to leave a review, and give me your thoughts and feedback to the battle you're about to read. And lastly, this chapter and the next chapter are going to be battle chapters. You will learn what is going on with the Xenomorph prisoner in the chapter after that, I promise.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 9: Justice

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Esdeath held up an arm, and called to her Subordinates "Everybody, stand down!" All around her, most of the Soldiers and the Jaegers hesitated. "Why, Commander!?" Seryu argued "We have the Criminals in Our sights! Justice demands that We carry out their sentence, right here and now!" The General threw her a cold angry glare "I said stand down, Seryu! I'm not going to ask you again…" That got the amber eyed Jaeger to finally relent. Beside her, Koro whined in confusion as his user refused to order him to attack.

The rest of the Jaegers followed suit, and went through with their leader's order. Wave relaxed and stood at ease, but still retained Grand Chariot's black armor, in case this whole agreement went south. Kurome's weapons remain undrawn, though she kept one hand resting on Muramasa in its scabbard, and the other hand on the Revolver Pistol in its holster. She never took her eyes off Akame.

From up above, Run floated down beside his Commander. "General Esdeath. Are you sure about this decision?" he asked, while folding Mastema's wings against his back. "They're up to something. You know it, and I know it." He insisted. Esdeath nodded in agreement "Yes, Run. But the only way to find out, is to play along with this charade." She then leaned over to him "Once We learned enough about them, We'll plot out what to do next. In the meantime, We must not underestimate these people, like We did the Aliens. We're going to have to tread carefully this time." she admits. The winged Jaeger concurs, and kept his silence as he studied their adversaries closely.

Night Raid and the Colonial Marines stood close to each other, as they warily saw the Imperial forces around them stand down when the word of their General's order traveled throughout.

Hicks leaned towards Ripley, and murmured in her ear "Ellen. I hope you have some sort of plan…" The Lieutenant nodded "I do. But first, give me your helmet." The Corporal removed his helmet, and handed it over. Ripley then turned, and placed it on top of Newt's head to cover Spectator's headpiece "Ok, Newt. I need you to keep using your Imperial Arm, and learn everything you can from the Jaegers' memories. Start with their Leader, then move on to her Soldiers. Share with me everything you see, like you did when you showed me the Jaegers' encounter with the Aliens." The little girl made a childish salute, and activated Spectator's Insight ability. She then focused her Imperial arm towards scanning Esdeath's memories.

Ripley leaned towards Hicks, and murmured "Can you access certain systems on the Sulaco via the Dropship's controls?" The Corporal made a determined expression "I may need to have Bishop do a little tweaking. Why? What do you have in mind?" The Lieutenant looked around to make sure no one was watching her speak "I need you to do a manual override on some of the Sulaco's systematic functions, and rig it to where they're activated on a delayed timer." The Marine nods "Bishop should be able to manage it. But, We'll also have to figure out some way of letting him know, without alerting the others."

Ripley then shook her head "Newt's Imperial Arm won't affect synthetics. We're gonna have to be subtle about telling Bishop what we need him to do. Otherwise, the plan won't work. And We'll be as good as dead, or worse…" She leans back over to Hicks "I'll leave it to you to clue Bishop in on what We're planning for. Meanwhile, We'll be sure to keep Esdeath and her Followers distracted." The Corporal was uncertain "How do you plan to do that? And, who's We?" The Lieutenant made a slight grin and answered "You'll see…"

After taking a hard look, Run took notice of someone within Night Raid's group "Ma'am." he turned to Esdeath "Over there, next to Ripley. It's the little girl from that video archive record." Esdeath glanced at Newt, and smirks "So it is. It seems, she's survived the initial attack from the Aliens on the Colonists, all the say up go when Hicks' rescue team arrived." Wave overheard them, and gazed over at Newt. The little girl did indeed match the image from the recorded video. Albeit her clothes were mended, her hair is groomed, and much of it was hidden beneath a large Marine helmet she was wearing.

"Amazing. She managed to survive through all of this, despite her age, with no weapons or training." Wave commented admirably. Run nods in agreement "She would know a great deal about the Aliens and the events before the Colony's infestation. We should question her, as soon as we can, along with Lieutenant Ripley and Corporal Hicks." Esdeath makes a diabolical smile "All in good time, you two. First, let's see where this takes us."

Esdeath surveyed her army, as the word of her orders to stand down spread across the ranks of soldiers. When she saw that everyone had switched to standby, she turned to address Ripley "Okay! As you can see, my army has stood down. We have no intention of attacking." She demonstrated her assurance, by sheathing her rapier "There, you see? It's done. So, how would you like to proceed?"

Ripley also took a gander at the opposing army and the Jaegers in front. They all stood, looking expectantly at both her and General Esdeath. "Like I said before, I'll take you up to the Sulaco with me. You and one other Jaeger, while the rest stay here. I have no reason to think, you and your team would not attempt something treacherous. But, feel free to take as many Imperial Soldiers as you want." She then indicated the frozen Dropship "We'll need a moment to thaw out the Dropship. Take this time to determine which one of your Subordinates is going with you."

Esdeath considered Ripley's term "Very well. But I must insist, Night Raid stays here as well. I too have no reason to think neither of you wouldn't attempt to cross me." Ripley nods "Fair enough. But I'm taking one of them with us, to be sure we both remain on equal terms." Esdeath quietly nods and agrees.

"Hicks. Any ideas on restoring the Dropship?" Ripley asked the Corporal. Hicks grinned, and pulled out a Welding Torch from his pocket "I just need to thaw out the thruster nozzles. Then, all we have to do is to have Bishop switch the ship into defrost mode. That'll get the ice off of the hull and fuselage." The Lieutenant nods appreciatively "Good. Get on it, while I have a word with Najenda." She turns towards Night Raid's leader "I need you and the others to be ready for anything. You'll know when the time is right, when you see it." Najenda was still hesitant about this truce between themselves and the Imperials, but withheld her misgivings. She could not see any better alternatives.

"We'll be waiting." Najenda answered. Ripley nods and continues speaking "I also need Mine to come with us." Najenda was taken aback. "Why her?" she asked. Ripley explains "Because, she has an attitude and is outspoken. She'll play an important part to my plan. Without her, We're doomed." Night Raid's leader relents on her questions. She then looks over to Mine, and tells her "Go with them." Mine nods, and obediently walks over near Newt.

No one said anything, as they continued to eye each of their opponents with suspicion. Meanwhile, Hicks approached the ice covered Dropship, and ignited his Welding Torch. "Bishop." he spoke into his headset mic "I'm going to melt some of this ice off. When I do, I want you to ignite the engines, and set them to defrost. Do you copy?"

Bishop's voice crackled over some static ("Affirmative. Standing by.") Hicks took his lit Welding Torch, and held it against a frozen thruster nozzle.

While the Corporal labored to free the Dropship from the ice, Esdeath began to address her Subordinates "I want you all to remain standing by, and await my return." She then speaks with Run "You're in charge, while I'm gone. If something happens while I'm away, or I'm not back by noon, command my army to attack." She turns and looks back at Ripley, Hicks, and Night Raid "Wipe them out, down to the last individual, then secure the area, and continue the Alien hunt without me…" The winged Jaeger nodded dutifully "As you wish. But, Who will be accompanying you?"

Esdeath glanced around her "30 of my men will accompany me, and Seryu." Seryu looked at her Commander in response to her name "Ma'am?" The blue haired General waved the auburn haired Jaeger over, and took her aside by the shoulder "Listen to me closely." Esdeath instructed "Ripley and her group are definitely going to try something. So stay sharp, and be ready for anything."

Seryu answers with a salute "Justice is always vigilant, and ready to stand against Evil." Esdeath nods, and turned to look once more at Ripley's group.

Over at the Dropship, Hicks shuts off his Welding Torch, and spoke into his headset mic "Okay, Bishop. Give it a try." Over the radio comms, Bishop responded ("Right. Firing up the engines, now.")

 _Whrrrnnn!_ The air began to fill with the winding of turbines and jet thrusters, as the Dropship's engines began powering up. Bishop flipped a switch, and set the engines into defrost mode. In a matter of minutes, the enveloping ice began to thaw and come away from the hull and fuselage in large wet chunks. Underneath the thawing Dropship, Hicks stood by as the Dropship's loading ramp unfroze and opened freely.

Leone was the first to come charging down the ramp, assuming her Imperial Arm's bestial transformation. "Whoa! Hey!" Hicks called out, as he stood in her way "Stand down, Leone!" The bestial blonde then barked angrily at the Corporal "What the Hell, are you talking about!? Do you not see the enemy surrounding Us!?" Hicks maintained a calm face, and explained "We've worked out an agreement. There's no need for Us to fight." He then leaned close to her "Trust us, Leone. Let Me and Ripley handle this…" the Marine then beckoned for her to go and join the rest of Night Raid.

Lubbock and Chelsea slowly came down the loading ramp, to check out the situation. Lubbock had his Service Pistol drawn, and Chelsea was brandishing a Shotgun. When they both saw Leone deactivate Lionel and follow Hicks' directions, they followed suit, and rejoined their Comrades on the side. Like the Others, neither of them bothered with putting away their weapons.

Ripley observed the Dropship, and saw that it was finally cleared of ice. Hicks came walking up to her, and saluted "Bishop says, the Dropship is flight worthy. We can take off, at any time." The Lieutenant smiled appreciatively, and waves Mine and Newt over. She gives Najenda and the rest of Night Raid one final nod, as the band of assassins stood tense and ready for anything that might happen.

Ripley then turned around, and began waving over at Esdeath. The blue haired General nods coldly, and motioned for some of her Subordinates to follow her, as she came walking toward the Dropship. To Esdeath's right walked Seryu with Koro hanging off her shoulder, and behind both Jaegers marched 30 Imperial Soldiers in tight formation.

Ripley and Hicks led Newt and Mine up the Dropship's loading ramp. "Mine, take Newt and go get seated." Ripley ordered "Don't make eye contact, and don't talk to anybody. Just follow my lead and act natural." Mine hesitated at first, but made a small nod. "We're going to be fine." Ripley assured. The pink haired gunner took Newt by the hand, and brought her aside to a nearby pair of seats.

Down at the bottom of the Dropship's loading ramp, Esdeath walked up and stood waiting, with Seryu standing next to her, and Imperial Soldiers lined up behind them. "C'mon up." Ripley called down to them, and Esdeath led her Subordinates up the ramp and into the ship.

"Take a seat, and buckle in." instructed Ripley "Takeoff's going to get bumpy, and it won't do to have so many bodies being jostled around." She nodded towards Hicks who stepped into the cockpit, and settled into the co-pilot seat.

"Okay, Bishop. Prepare to lift-off." commanded Hicks. Bishop operated the pilot controls, and began throwing switches and pressing buttons "Roger…" he then spoke into his headset mic "Take-off procedures initiated." his voice sounded over the Dropship's PA speakers "All hands, please be seated."

Under Esdeath's direction, the Imperial Soldiers began taking up their seats, and secure themselves for the launch. Esdeath herself selected the foremost seat near Ripley, while Seryu holding Koro tight in her metal arms, sat next to her Commander. Finally, the last to sit was Ripley as the Lieutenant took a seat next to Newt with Mine on the far side.

All of the Dropship's occupants grew silent, as jet thrusters whined in growing intensity. After Bishop throttled the engines, the ship lurched, and powered against the gravity of its weight as it steadily rose above the ground.

Wave stood next to Run, as they both watch the Dropship lift off and climb steadily into the air before shooting straight up into the clouds. Both remained grimly silent, since neither of them knew what may occur next. Beside them, Kurome paced back and forth impatiently as she kept watch over at Akame, yet unable to do anything while under Esdeath's orders and the established truce.

Akame was also pacing back and forth, but more in assessment than impatience. She would only glimpse at Kurome occasionally. Other times, she studied the surrounding Imperial Soldiers. They were so many.

"Too many" Akame muttered admittedly. Her training and career as an assassin has made her into an extremely formidable combatant. But, she was hardly material for the vanguard, as her skillset was uniquely geared towards slaying high profile targets not an entire army. Especially one as big as Esdeath's, and with the Jaegers here to reinforce it.

Even with the whole of Night Raid at her back, the red eyed assassin couldn't say for sure if any of them could get out of this alive. Akame shifted her attention over to Najenda, feeling certain her Commander had come to the same conclusion.

Night Raid's leader scanned, and tried to determine the scale of Imperial fighting strength. By reputation alone, Esdeath's army was the stuff of legend, fabled as unbeatable and staunchly loyal to their General, no other army could contend with such a force. The few that tried, were ruthlessly steamrolled without effort. Now that very same army was staring them dead in the face, and only a handful of people stand in their way. Under normal circumstances, a squad of half a dozen would be hilariously outmatched by an army of several hundred-thousand strong. But, these aren't normal circumstances.

Several factors have deeply influenced this standoff. Ripley's last minute bluff had bought them more time, and prompted Esdeath and Seryu to remove themselves from the field. But at a cost, Mine and her Imperial Arm, Pumpkin had to go with them. And now Night Raid's best sharpshooter, ranged weapon, and their allies with their entire Colonial Marine arsenal are at risk of falling into the Empire's hands. From where they're standing, Najenda still couldn't see whatever advantages can turn the situation into Night Raid's favor.

At best, 6 Imperial Arms users can stand against 3, but an entire army tilts the odds in the Jaegers' favor. By how much, Najenda didn't know, nor did she really have a way of finding out. All she could really determine, was her own team's fighting strength. Night Raid's leader looked over to her Subordinates, and saw that each were carrying a compliment of Colonial Marine weaponry, plus their own respective Imperial Arms. If Night Raid was to stand a chance at victory, their Commander will have to strategize their battle strength to their most highest efficiency.

"All right. Listen up, Everyone." Najenda addressed her Subordinates "We need to be ready, in case this all goes to shit." All the members of Night Raid looked up at their Leader, and stood at attention. Before she can discuss strategy, Najenda wanted to see what she has to work with "Let's do a weapons check. Show me what each of you are carrying."

One by one, every member of Night Raid presented their loadout of weapons and equipment. From Akame, she had her Combat Pistol with a handful of loaded clips. Tatsumi had his Pulse-Rifle with one extra clip, and his Shotgun with a bandolier full of shells. Susanoo had his own Pulse-Rifle and Shotgun, but didn't carry any extra rounds. Leone was bare-handed, with only her Imperial Arm, Lionel to rely on. Chelsea had the third Shotgun, and kept extra shells and a few grenades stashed within the compartment of Gaea Foundation. Lubbock only had his Service Pistol with a couple of clips tucked away. And finally, Najenda had the only Flamethrower with its valve showing more than ¾ of fuel remaining. Their inventory doesn't look promising. Even if the amount was triple, it wouldn't likely be able to match up against the opposing force.

With an inward sigh, Najenda did her best to allocate their firepower "Okay. Here's what We'll do. Lubbock, you're in charge of defense. If the Enemy attacks, they'll be coming from all directions. I want you to form a barrier with Imperial Arm, Cross Tails, and hold them at bay. Chelsea and Su will join me, in laying down suppressing fire." She then turned to the others "Akame, Tatsumi, and Leone. You three are to engage the Jaegers once they enter the battle. Akame will handle her sister, Kurome. Tatsumi, you take Grand Chariot. The last Jaeger is left up to you, Leone. So grab a gun, and get well acquainted with it fast." All around, her Subordinates gave affirmative nods, and began to take up positions. "And share whatever weapons you can spare, with the person next to you." She commanded.

Tatsumi unslung his Shotgun and bandolier, and offered them to Lubbock "Here, take these." The green haired defense operative accepted the offering graciously, and began prepping Cross Tails. Susanoo did the same with his Shotgun, and handed it to Leone "Here you go." The voluptuous blonde studied the firearm, before taking it, and began observing how her Comrades handled such a weapon.

Wave stared over at Night Raid's movements "Run, look what they're doing." Run glanced at the group of assassins, with curiosity "Interesting. It seems, they are preparing to battle Us." Wave was beginning to grow anxious "Shouldn't we do something, instead of standing around like this?" The General's Aide frowned with uncertainty "We have our orders. We don't attack unless the time is up, or they attack Us first." He then checked to make sure every Imperial Soldier held their position. "Besides, I can see most of them a toting Colonial Marine weaponry." he added "Those firearms are potent, and We have yet to know the scope of their damage capabilities. Let's not do anything rash, right now. Okay?" The black armored sailor nodded behind Grand Chariot's faceplate. He then turned to see if Kurome understood Run's instruction, but the teenage assassin made no response as she continued to pace and stare at her Older Sister. Her patience was starting to run out.

 **Above the Empire's Atmosphere, Outer Space**

The UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship barreled out of the upper atmosphere of the planet, and cruise along through the fathomless expanse of space. Most of it's current occupants unbuckled their safety harnesses, and moved about the cabin freely. Many began taking turns looking through nearby windows and portholes to gaze in wonder and astonishment at the stars outside.

"Amazing!" Seryu called out, as she gazed and marveled at the stars outside. On her shoulder, Koro only whined. Mine looked out and the stars, and was also overwhelmed with awe "Wait till the Others get a load of this, especially Akame. I bet she'd flip out, after seeing all of this."

Esdeath too was caught up in the wonder of space travel. "Look at all of those stars. There must be so many other Worlds out there, but how many? I should ask Ripley." Nearby, Ripley checked to make sure no one was giving her any attention. Once she saw that the cost is clear, she turned towards Hicks in the cockpit co-pilot seat. With a nod, the Lieutenant signaled the Corporal to proceed with the plan.

Hicks returns the nod, and nudged Bishop by the shoulder. Once he got the Synthetic Android's attention, the Marine began typing a message on the HUD screen of the co-pilot controls.

To ensure no one would notice what Hicks and Bishop were up to, Ripley tried diverting all attention to herself, by clearing her throat and calling everyone out "If I can have all of your attention real quick. There's a couple of things we need to discuss."

Esdeath and Seryu turned their gazes towards Ripley, and so too did the Imperial Soldiers. When all eyes were upon her, Ripley indicated a nearby viewport "The first, yall need to know, is that Space is a very hostile and a very dangerous environment." she taps her fingers against the viewport's glass "No human being can survive out in space. Not without the proper equipment, of course." When the Lieutenant saw a lot of confused faces, she attempted to use layman's terms to explain "Space is deadly by it's name's definition. The vast expanse from outside creates vacuum which sucks and drains every form of air and moisture from any carrier that is not sealed air tight." To help get her point across, Ripley spoke more graphically "If anyone were to step outside of this ship, all of the air, blood, and bodily fluids will be forcibly ejected from every orifice of one's own body. You'll die a slow and unpleasant death, as everything inside your body is wrung out and imploded."

Seryu threw Ripley a suspicious glare "Why did you bring Us out to such a deadly place? Did you think you can use the surrounding darkness against those who stand in the light of Justice?" For the first time since the standoff at Hadley's Hope, Mine spoke directly to her "You're an Idiot! If we'd wanted you dead, we would have tried blasting at you, back on planetside." Koro snarled at the pink haired gunner, as his user stomped towards her with clenched metal fists "What did you say to me!?" Mine was about to draw Pumpkin in readiness, but stopped, as she sees Ripley step between her and Seryu.

"I wouldn't advice any acts of violence aboard this ship." Ripley warned, as she brandished her Pulse-Rifle/Flamethrower "The Dropship is sturdy, but it's not design to withstand onboard confrontations. A stray bullet or misdirected attack can rupture the hull, and We'd all he killed by the vacuum outside." Seryu stared at the three barrels of Ripley's combo weapon aimed point blank at her face. Suddenly, Esdeath appeared in front of her, and darkly shook her head.

In a pout, Seryu retreated towards the back of the cabin, while holding a whining Koro close to her. All around her, the Imperial Soldiers began exchanging nervous glances. Only Esdeath remained passive "We get it, Ripley. We damage this ship, or open it in some way, We all die…" Ripley gives the Jaegers' leader an affirmative nod "Now that we understand each other, I should ask that your men refrain from probing about aboard this ship." Over near the weapons cache, a few Imperial Imperial Soldiers and Seryu were staring hungrily at the Pulse-Rifles, Shotguns, and Flamethrowers stowed on their racks.

Radiating a cold burst of Killing Intent, Esdeath addressed her Subordinates "Nobody touch anything. We still don't know what does what, so let's respect the Lieutenant's wishes." With a groan of disappointment, Seryu and the others skulk back towards their seats.

When Everyone found their way back to their seats, Esdeath approached Ripley. "Tell me about the world you come from. Tell me about Earth." she commanded. Ripley was relieved that the General was willing to engage in a conversation. It would keep her distracted, while Hicks, Bishop, and Newt carried out the plan's preparation. But, something the General said threw off the Lieutenant. "How do you know about Earth? And, how did you know Night Raid and my people would be coming to the Hadley colony, beforehand?"

Esdeath only grinned maliciously "I have my ways…" she answers cryptically. Ripley didn't want to put up with any nonsense "I'm serious. Tell me what I want to know." Esdeath then frowned in annoyance "I've asked you first."

Ripley thought for a moment, and conceded. Talking about Earth wasn't going to put anything at risk. "Earth is a lot like your World here." she started explaining "It has forests and mountains, oceans and deserts as well. Though Earth doesn't have as many landmass, and it's moon, Luna is pale, not red."

Off to the side, Seryu began to scoff "How can your moon be white? I think you're lying to Us." Ripley rolled her eyes "Different mineral composition, most likely." The amber eyed young woman continued to challenge Ripley's credibility "How would You know that?"

"Because, I was born on it." Ripley replied in a matter of fact tone "For centuries, mankind on Earth had long since pioneered the stars, and settled on countless other worlds. We've expanded far and wide, since then." Esdeath was very much intrigued by this information. She wanted to know so much more, but must refrain a little, or risk revealing her intentions "Can you tell me where Earth is located?" Ripley only shakes her head "I can't. Not yet anyway. We need to get to the Sulaco, first. That is where the information can be obtained."

Ripley stepped over to an array of computer screens and controls "You can help Us get to the ship faster, if you'd provide some extra visuals for locating the ship." She indicated a few screens that were direct feeds from the Dropship's external cameras. "Right now, we're following a beacon signal which we have to zero in on. A visual reference would expedite the Dropship towards docking procedures." Ripley then pulled up a chair, and beckoned invitingly for Esdeath to sit.

The General glared at the chair suspiciously, but after a while, she took the seat. "What am I looking for, exactly?" she asked. Ripley grinned reassuringly "You'll know, when you see it." Esdeath frowned, but remained compliant, as she silently turned towards the camera monitors, and began scanning for anything not resembling stars or blackness of space.

"Can I help?" Seryu asked impatiently, and Ripley pulled up another chair, then waved over for the auburn haired young Jaeger to come sit next to Esdeath. "A few extra eyes should speed up our search." reasoned the Lieutenant. After Seryu and Esdeath set themselves to scanning the monitors, Ripley stood next to them so as not to arouse suspicion. Behind them, Newt sat in her seat, and activated her Imperial Arm, Spectator. Using Spectator's Insight ability, she began scanning into both Jaegers' memories and past experiences. Once she was done, the Little Girl then turned her Spectator towards the Imperial Soldiers around her.

After gathering and collecting as much personal information on her targets, Newt followed through on Ripley's prior instructions, and relayed her findings, by using Illusion Sight.

What Ripley saw filled her with horror and dread, and she began to inch away from Seryu, as the visions encompassed her view. ("First to see, was a young girl with sapphire eyes and long blue hair, giggling to herself, as she mutilated a small animal she'd been hunting, while it was still alive. The poor creature squealed in pain, as the shock and trauma finally ended its life. With a shrug, Young Esdeath bound up the body, and carried it with her. The next vision showed a still Young Esdeath walking along a path to a village, only to find the village completely in ruins, its inhabitants dead or dying. She approaches a mortally wounded man lying nearby, who lectures her with his final words, that this massacre was a part of nature. Only the Strong get to Live and the Weak die off.")

Ripley closed her eyes in disgust. When she opened them, the visions continued ("She now sees Esdeath imbibing a black substance from an ominous looking chalice. Shortly after, Esdeath clutched her head in pain, as an unseen force started to overwhelm her. A moment passed, and Esdeath regained her composure. On her bust, just above her cleavage, a black tattoo-like marking began to appear. The vison pressed on, as it displayed Esdeath using her newly acquired power over ice, to slaughter countless people. There was one showing Najenda covering her mouth in shock, as she bore witness to the aftermath of a recent battle which led to a village being raze to the ground. A few survivors were tied up and forced to watch the razing of their home, all the while Esdeath taunting them in order to galvanize their desire for revenge, and incite another war. Some time after, Esdeath ambushed an unsuspecting Najenda who was attempting to defect from the Empire, and join the Revolutionary Army. The attack resulted in Najenda losing her eye and arm.")

Ripley shut her eyes once more, hoping to let the visions pass, until she can look at something more palatable, after. She opened her eyes again, and saw she was wrong ("Atop a mountain of rubble, Esdeath stood smiling with satisfaction, as she managed to bury alive an entire army of northern warriors. The vision skips forward some time later, to show Esdeath sitting atop of what appears to be some sort of throne. At her feet was a young man bound in chains, and completely nude, eagerly licking at Esdeath's high heeled boots. Suddenly, Esdeath kicked her foot so hard onto the young man's head, the high heel stabbed right into the young man's skull, and killed him.")

Ripley can feel resentment and rage boil within her, as she witnessed Esdeath's ever worsening cycle of death and torment. ("She now sees Esdeath returning to the Capital, her commendation and reverence as a hero from the young Emperor, the General's conspiracy with Prime Minister Honest about using Esdeath's servants the Three Beasts to assassinate influential government personnel. She also sees the blue haired woman passing the time assisting those within the Torture Chamber, by teaching how to boil people alive slow enough to prolong their agony. Then, the subsequent formation of the Jaegers, and the abduction of Tatsumi.")

Just as Ripley was considering some way of shutting out the visions, she began to see more informative content. ("The Jaegers began their first assignment together, by launching an all-out assault on a bandit hideout. Next, was Esdeath spending an uneventful night sleeping with Tatsumi. Soon after, came Tstsumi's escape and Wave's punishment. Then there was the matter of dealing with a plague of new and strange Danger Beasts. As Esdeath and Run discussed the matter of the Humanoid Danger Beasts, she showed the General's Aide a particular flower capable of causing extreme pain when applied to an open wound. A random patrol had her crossing paths with Tatsumi once again, until they were both mysteriously teleported to an island full of Colossal Danger Beasts. During some time alone together, both shared each other's past. Until finally, a way back presented itself, and both of them returned to where they had met, while Tatsumi managed a second escape.")

"You guys find anything?" Ripley asked, while trying to act natural. She'd have to keep up appearances in order for no one to figure out what's she and Newt have been doing.

"No…" Esdeath answered promptly.

"Nothing here." Seryu replied, with annoyance "It would help if you describe what We should be looking for."

Ripley tapped a monitor screen, and explained "Relax, these cameras have specialized sensors for picking up relevant objects. They'll mark and highlight the ship long before you get a chance to see it yourself. It's meant for your eyes not to work as hard and risk straining them."

"How boring…" Esdeath sighed, but she continued to look at the screen. The sooner she can get to the ship, the better she'll feel with things moving along.

Ripley makes a friendly smile, and resume facing a monitor screen, as the visions continued stream in her veiw. ("One day, she sees Esdeath sitting in a chair and staring admirably at an hand-drawn picture of Tatsumi. She was then approached by Run with new orders from the Prime Minister. The Jaegers have a brief meeting, before deploying on their mission. The vision jumps to the Jaegers encounter with Hicks and Bishop in the Dropship. After a brief diversion, the Dropship gets away into space, and the Jaegers continued south. The next vision showed the Jaegers riding a large flying Danger Beast into a ruined campsite. After an impromptu investigation, they turn up with a sole survivor of the Expeditionary Force. The lone soldier kept babbling on about an unstoppable crawling darkness that came for him and his comrades in the dark of night. He gave a vague description on the creatures' battle prowess, before taking his own life. The Jaegers maintained their search for other survivors and the creature that was described. Their search led them into an Alien Hive, where they stumbled across the remnants of cocooned Imperial Soldiers, and the swarm of Aliens that were bred from them. The Aliens attacked the divided Jaegers, which exacted a heavy toll on the group. Wave was hurt, Kurome was also injured and lost her Imperial Arm, Yatsufusa, Bols was subdued and impregnated, Seryu expended most of her weapons while her Imperial Arm, Koro was neutralized by a type of Alien Ripley never seen before. Esdeath battled another peculiar Alien strain, before facing the one that defeated Koro, and confronting the Queen. The onslaught greatly taxed Esdeath as she sustained minor injuries, and was briefly stunned by the Queen by some sort of intimidation. Esdeath tried to attack, but the Queen countered strongly, only to be foiled by a timely intervention from Wave and the Bird Wyvern. With the battle turning against her favor, the Queen escapes, and her brood abandon the Hive. The Jaegers regroup, and gather up a disabled Bols and Koro, before departing and destroying the entire Hive with Bols' Imperial Arm, Rubicante. The Jaegers return to the Capitol, and await the recovery of their Comrade. After inviting Bols' family for a visit, the Jaegers rejoice after witnessing Bols regain consciousness. They gathered for a large dinner feast, and watched in horror, as an Alien Chestburster erupted out of an unsuspecting Bols, only to be captured by a quick-thinking Esdeath. The Jaegers slip into pandemonium, as they saw firsthand the horrific and disgusting process in which Aliens are born.") Ripley's throat locked up, as she inadvertently beheld another victim gutted by an Alien offspring. Then, a horrible realization came over her. Assuming the Empire hadn't killed It, there may be an Alien dwelling inside the Capitol. And she had no doubt, the Imperials would try to study and exploit It, for their own dark causes.

Ripley, Hicks, and Night Raid will have to somehow have to find the Xenomorph harbored somewhere within the Capitol, and destroy It.

Unfortunately, the visions of horrendous events, haven't finished yet. But it seems Newt gathered all that was needed from Esdeath, because now she was relaying visions of Seryu's past instead.

Due to Seryu being younger, the visions were shorter. But, they weren't as pleasant ("There was a young Seryu standing vigil over a grave. Beside her, stood a large muscular man with a scar over his left eye socket. The large man draped his arm over Seryu's shoulder for comfort, as a sinister smirk formed at the corner of his face. Later, the man took Seryu under his tutelage and mentorship, conditioning her into a formidable fighter, and teacher her that Justice means serving the Empire, by destroying all who oppose it and its laws.") Ripley came to realize that the man was Captain Ogre, whom Najenda had described, and whom Tatsumi had assassinated.

"So, this was the bastard, who had corrupted Seryu, and twisted her moral views." Thought Ripley, as she snuck a look at the amber eyed young woman. "If her father had still been alive, would she have turned out differently?" Ripley didn't know enough about Seryu's father, but compared to Ogre, he couldn't be any worse an alternative. Seryu turned and caught the Lieutenant looking at her.

"What are you staring at?" Seryu asked. Ripley tried to look friendly, and replied "It's nothing. I was about to ask you to tell me more about yourself. Maybe about your family, perhaps?"

Seryu made as if she was about to speak at length, but stopped herself and turned back towards the view-screens "Not now. We still have to find the Sulaco. Don't distract me, until then." Ripley shrugged and turned away to look back at her own monitor.

The visions continued on ("Seryu slumped, as she heard the news of Ogre's death. When she learned that Night Raid was responsible, she angrily vowed that she would not rest until every member of Night Raid was exterminated. In time, she was introduced to a colleague of Ogre, who was known as Dr. Stylish. The Doctor offered to performed a few tests and experiments on Seryu, in the prospect of turning Seryu into a much stronger fighter. Seryu agrees, and underwent an experimental procedure where she was subjected to extremely painful body modifications. The procedure was completed, and Seryu was then tested for compatibility with a certain Imperial Arm. After the test, she was given charge over Koro, and the two of them became inseparable partners."

Ripley made a quick glance at Koro hanging onto Seryu's shoulder. She found it difficult to understand how such a small and unassuming creature could be considered a lethal weapon on par with other Imperial Arms. Her answer came soon enough with the next set of visions. ("In a chance encounter, Seryu and Koro met with Tatsumi for the first time. She introduced herself and her biological Imperial Arm to the green eyed fighter, before guiding him to his destination. Later on, she ambushes Mine and Sheele, while they were falling back after a mission. A major battle ensues, and Seryu had Koro transform into a large voracious beast. The fight raged on, with the members of Night Raid gaining the upper hand, until Seryu had Koro activate his Trump Card. The biological Imperial Arm changed from white to red, and grew even bigger and more savagely powerful. After letting out an overwhelming roar blast, Koro grabbed Mine with a large fist, and tried to constrict the pink haired assassin to death. Sheele intervened, and used her Imperial Arm to sever Koro's arms and free Mine. Sheele looked over her Comrade with a sense of relief, until a gunshot sounded, and a bullet struck her from behind. To the side stood Seryu, with a gun barrel protruding from her mouth, and her face dementedly warped. With Sheele stunned by her gunshot wound, she can only watch as Koro came at her with wide open jaws full of rows of cruelly sharp teeth. In one massive bite, the Berserker Imperial Arm tore Sheele in half, and held her upper torso in his mouth. Helpless to do anything, Mine looked on, as Sheele used Extase's trump card to distract the enemy, so that Mine could escape. Seryu began laughing hysterically, as Koro devoured Sheele completely until only a bloody Extase was left. Seryu continued laughing, and wept with pure joy after successfully killing a member of Night Raid and making the World a better place.")

Ripley's stomach churned with morbid disgust and hatred, then realized her hands were drifting idly towards her Pulse-Rifle's trigger. She hastily reeled in her arms, and kept them steady, hoping no one had seen what they did. When nobody said anything, she calmed herself, and steeled her resolve in going through with the visions.

The Lieutenant soon learned, Seryu's past actions had grown worse. ("After losing her arms in her battle with Sheele and Mine, Seryu was soon fitted with mechanical prosthetics by Dr. Stylish. The Doctor then developed and armed Seryu with a formidable arsenal that was dubbed the Judgement of the Ten Heavenly Kings. Soon after, both Seryu, Koro, and Dr. Stylish went on to joined the newly formed team of Imperial Arms users formally known as the Jaegers. Although, Dr. Stylish had perished after attempting to assault Night Raid by himself with only his personal fighting force to assist him. Seryu was once again distraught, after learn of the Doctor's demise, and she then grew to admire General Esdeath when the latter consoled her in her grief. During her tenure with Esdeath and the other Jaegers, Seryu went on fighting and killing anyone unfortunate to wind up as a target. Her victims ranged from bandits to civilians to whoever she suspected of committing any form of crime, whether they were innocent or not. Eventually, she began killing without bias, not waiting for any captured prisoner to be put on trial or given the chance to clear their own names. She'd either feed her victims to Koro, or butcher them herself.") This streak of carnage was almost too much for Ripley to bear, but what came next got her attention. ("The timeline finally caught up to current events, and The Jaegers set out on their second attempt to investigate the Valley where the Hadley colony was located. They arrive at the Colony, and immediately began their investigation. They soon discovered the remnants of Night Raid's camp, then proceed with exploring the Colony itself. Inside Hadley's Hope, the Jaegers ran into the last line of Operations' defense that Ripley and the Colonial Marines had set up to ward off the Aliens. The Jaegers became separated, and soon found themselves beneath the Colony sub-levels battling mutated Aliens, and a large Bestial Xenomorph. But, it was during such tribulations that they made a very important discovery…")

("Hudson!") Ripley mouthed in surprise, and she instantly covered her mouth to avoid giving away her surprise. Thankfully, no one noticed, and assumed she was just yawning. Her relief was compounded further with the revelation that Hicks' friend and comrade was seemingly still alive. From here on in everything else from the visions began to fall into place. ("The Jaegers manage to restore power to the Colony, then they went back to Operations and come to learn everything pertaining to LV-426, Hadley's Hope and it's Colonists, the Alien infestation and the fate of the Colonists, the Colonial Marines' failed rescue mission, and the Atmosphere Processor's imminent destruction. All of the facts were corroborated by the Colony archives, and Hudson's testimony. The Jaegers now knew everything they needed about the events happening around them in the past few days. They even chanced upon learning about the Dropship's intended return trip to Hadley's Hope. Once Hudson got wind on what's about to happen, the ComTech made a valiant attempt at warning Hicks, but was hit on the side of his head so hard by Seryu, that he passed out soon after. Seryu had intended to dissect Hudson, to ensure the ComTech wasn't parasitized by the Aliens, before she'd feed him to Koro. But, Esdeath interjected by insisting that Hudson may yet still be useful. She then had the Jaegers and her newly arrived army of Imperial Soldiers stage an elaborate ambush to catch the Colonial Marines and Night Raid off-guard. All they had to do was shut off the power to the Colony, and hunker down and wait within the cover of the surrounding forest wilderness. And their prey fell right into their trap, hook, line, and sinker.")

Ripley barely managed to stifle a wave of nausea, as she fought hard against her gag reflex. With all the death and destruction she'd seen done by the Aliens, it was next to nothing compared to unimaginable torment and suffering perpetrated by those she's brought aboard this ship. The visions shifted to those of the Imperial Soldiers and What they've committed in the past.

The vision was a jumble of recollections from different individuals. ("Imperial Soldiers swarmed into a small village, and they plundered and destroyed all they came across. One soldier ran the blade of a sword down an elderly man's mouth. Another impaled a youth with a spear. The last piece of the vision showed a trio of Imperial Soldiers kicking in a door to a small building. Inside was a young woman, with a little girl around Newt's age, clinging to her. The Soldiers grabbed the woman by her hair, and began to drag her away from the little girl as she screamed and cried while holding onto the woman's outstretched arm.") What came next, pushed a nauseous Ripley to her breaking point. ("The three Soldiers held the woman down atop a pile of straw, and began ripping away pieces of her clothing. The vision ended with the little girl sobbing by herself, while the three Imperial Soldiers began taking turns as they sexually violated the woman. They continued ravaging her again, and again, and again…")

Ripley immediately aimed her weapon at the trio of Imperial Soldiers she recognized from the vision "You Motherfuckers raped a helpless woman, in front of her daughter!" She primed the Flamethrower's igniter, and then she suddenly felt the hard tip of steel prick her from behind.

"What do you think you're doing?" Esdeath demanded, as she held her rapier against Ripley's back. Her expression more curious than surprised. Despite the deadly gesture, Ripley didn't relent her firing stance "Making these barbarous animals accountable, for what they've done."

Esdeath pressed her blade a little further to the point of puncturing the fabric of Ripley's jacket and the shirt beneath "These men happen to be loyal soldiers of my army, who obey my orders." Ripley turned around to face the blue haired General "Does that include the Rape and Murder of so many innocent victims?"

The Jaegers' leader smirked, as if she was asked something with so obvious an answer "Those who are victorious, deserve to enjoy having their way with their defeated adversaries. Such are the spoils of war and conflict." Ripley flinched at Esdeath's straightfaced response.

"You're a Monster." Newt spoke with morbid conviction "You enjoy hurting others."

"The Strong have the right to do as they will with the Weak." Esdeath answered "It is the Weak's own fault, for not having any strength to resist." Ripley felt hate and resentment well up inside her, as she listened to then sadist revel in her own Darwinist ideals "Like you would know what strength is. You prattle about, and flaunt your unnatural abilities, while remaining ignorant to the nature of What real power is."

Esdeath took that comment as a challenge, and instantly responded by conjuring an ice dagger, then held it mere centimeters from Ripley's eye. "I'm a Survivor. I overcome any challenges that lie before me. My strength grows, and my skills are honed, with every battle I fight. What better way to live, than always searching for my next quarry. And if no enemies remain, I'll simply make more by taking away the peace in their live, and therefore making them hate me and willing to do whatever it takes to kill me." Her sapphire eyes lingered over to the Dropship's camera monitors, then back "And I'll roam as far and wide as I can, to face my next prey. One that can actually defeat me this time."

The Lieutenant glanced at the computer screens as well, and came to realize what the General intended to do once she possessed the Sulaco. With a starship, the Jaegers' leader will continually hunt down and wipe out the Aliens, but she won't stop there. Once Esdeath kills all who stand in her war on this World, she can and will bring war to countless others beyond, maybe even Earth. She must be stopped at all cost. And if Ripley's plan come into fruition, the threat may yet be neutralized. So long as Ripley kept Esdeath's attention focused on herself.

"You still don't know What you're dealing with." muttered an exasperated Ripley, as she recalled how Ash had taunted her, Parker, and Lambert, back when the treacherous Android was at their mercy "The Perfect Organism." Ripley continued "Its structural perfection is only matched by Its hostility." She can see Esdeath was making an excited face "And you admire It, don't you?" The sapphire eyed woman made no attempt to hide or deny the insinuation. She would only smile insidiously and quietly nodded, before dissipating her ice dagger. "The Aliens and Their Queen were the only species to manage to hand me my only defeat. I will not rest until I grind every last Xenomorph under my heel."

"You're no different from Them, for They too are Survivors." growled Ripley "Unclouded by Conscience, Remorse, or delusions of Morality." She continued, knowing what she spoke of was the truth "I've seen all the horrible things you've done. Enough to know what you are. It's You and those who follow You, that are like a cancer to this World. Just like the Aliens."

"How dare you throw such allegations towards the Warriors of Justice!" Seryu snapped, completely furious by what Ripley was saying "By what proof, are you basing these claims on!?" This time, Mine chimed in "We don't need proof to back these accusations! Just ask any person from the slums or in the red-light district. They can easily explain what the Empire did to place them into a life of poverty and misery."

Koro snarled at Mine once again, but Seryu remained in place. "Justice doesn't answer to the lowly dregs of society." she replied with so much pride and arrogance. "Why should Justice take the words of Whores, and Thieves…" she then points directly at Mine "And Murderers." Mine refused to back down "Better to be loathed and despised as a killer, than be enthralled by one." She pointed her finger right back "We know every single atrocity, You and Your Comrades have ever committed. We saw You laughing and smiling with every kill You make. Just like Esdeath. Just like your Captain Ogre, and your pal Dr. Stylish." Seryu couldn't tolerate Mine's insolence any more "Koro!" she called to her biological Imperial Arm-

 _Ahem!_ Ripley made a light cough, and tilted the Flamethrower's nozzle in Seryu's direction. "Muzzle your dog. Or I'll vaporize you…" Ripley threatened, despite Esdeath's rapier still pointed at her back. "Drop your weapon, Ripley." Esdeath demanded "Or, I'll skewer you." The Lieutenant was more perturbed than afraid by the General's threat "What's wrong?" she asked "Afraid that your Jaeger underling will learn the truth about your precious Empire? For someone who revels in mass destruction and suffering, you sure like to keep it under wraps."

"You're one to talk…" countered Esdeath, as her sapphire eyes narrowed with cold suspicion "You're using an Imperial Arm, aren't you? That how you've managed to learn so much about Us." Knowing that the jig is up, Ripley nodded at Newt, and instructed her to remove Hicks' helmet from atop her head.

Everyone stared at the metal headpiece that rested on Newt's brow. Esdeath glanced at it for a moment before recognizing the item. "That looks like the Omnipotent Five Sights, Spectator. An Imperial Arm that grants the user the power of sights and illusions."

"Illusions?" Seryu spat out in anger "What were they doing with such an Imperial Arm?"

"It appears, they'd intended to use Spectator to gather information." Explained Esdeath in a mildly impressed tone "Everything We know or witnessed, would be laid bare for them to see. And then, they would use said information against us." Seryu turned to face Newt accusingly "So this whole charade was a farce, to begin with. They were setting us up this whole time!"

"Seryu." Newt pleaded "If you really do want to get rid of Evil Monsters and Bad People, then let me show you Who the Bad People really are." With a dark expression, Seryu slowly approached the Little Girl. "With this Imperial Arm, I can show you the truth about the Empire you protect." Newt continued "I can show you all the crimes and bad things that the Empire is doing-"

 _Slap!_ Newt was silenced from speaking any further, as Seryu struck a metal hand across the Little Girl's cheek "Keep your lies and your scandalous defamations to yourself, you miserable brat!" Newt was instantly holding her face, and sniffling hard as she tried not to cry out loud.

Mine began to charge at Seryu "You Piece of Shit!" Before the Genius Sniper could make two steps, Koro sprang in front of her, growling and gnashing his sharp teeth at her. Mine halted abruptly, not wanting to agitate the biological Imperial Arm any further, and risk being devoured. Seryu ignored Mine's reaction, and forcefully tore the Spectator headpiece off of Newt's brow. "That oughta keep you from playing your dirty tricks on us." She snarled, as she tossed Newt's Imperial Arm aside.

Ripley was appalled by the whole spectacle "What's the matter Seryu? Can't stand the idea that the people you work for and protect so zealously, were no better than the monsters you've been fighting? Are you that afraid to realize that you've been so gleefully butchering the wrong kind of people?"

"Be quiet." Esdeath glowered at Ripley "So, all this time, everything you've told Us before was a lie." Ripley returned the look "Not everything. I truly did wanted your help in destroying the Aliens, but I had to try and ensure that the Jaegers and the Empire wouldn't pose a threat to us." Esdeath made a sadistic smile "Well, you failed. You really had us going, by leading us on with your deceit. But now, I can see through your schemes, and I'll never fall for them again. From here on in, nothing you say can give me pause.

"Not true." Ripley retorted "I can't lie to you about your chances, but…" her expression turned to smug satisfaction "You have my sympathies."

 _Smack!_ Esdeath backhanded Ripley across the cheek, and sent the Lieutenant stumbling back. "Enough of your tricks. This Game is over. Now were doing things my way…" she raised her rapier, and aimed the tip towards Ripley's throat.

In the cockpit, Hicks climbed out of the copilot seat and reached for his Pulse-Rifle "Not going to happen…" Only to stop short, after seeing two dozen rifle barrels aimed straight at him from the Imperial Soldiers own guns. The Corporal eyed the firing squad cautiously, and lowered his weapon.

"Everything you do is futile." sneered Esdeath "Your ruse has failed, and you are all under my mercy now." She raised her sword, and held it close in front of one of Ripley's dark eyes "You're all going To suffer for this, and I think I'll start with you, since you seem to be the ringleader behind this whole thing." The tip of the rapier inched closer to the Lieutenant's left eye "I'll leave you with one of your eyeballs, so you can see what I'm about do to the Corporal and the Little Girl."

"It's Newt, you Bitch…" Newt muttered in a low voice, but Seryu heard her comment, and grabbed the girl by the collar of her overalls. "Here, Ma'am. Teach this insolent brat about respect!" Mine surged forward angrily "Don't you touch her!" all around her, Imperial Soldiers seized the pink haired sniper, and held her down.

Esdeath began to smile menacingly "I think my men deserve a reward, for watching my back." She then indicated Mine, with a nod "I want you all to Violate her, until you are all satisfied."

Mine immediately began struggling with all her might, as multiple hands continued to hold her down against the floor, while others began feeling along her body. One was roughly fondling her breast, another felt up her dress and slid along her thighs, and others were frantically tugging and tearing at the lacings of her clothes in an attempt to rip them off.

"Enough." Bishop spoke calmly, as he exited his pilot seat, and stood before Everyone "I must insist for you all to cease such despicable activities, at once." All eyes fell on the Synthetic Android, with mixed confusion, disbelief, and hubris curiosity.

"Or what?" Esdeath chuckled "You'll stop Us? What can an unarmed man do, all by himself?" Bishop was unfazed by her taunt. "I prefer the term Artificial Person myself." he clarified "I'm not like a regular human being. My physiology is carefully constructed by human hands. I'm a robot in a traditional sense. I have a higher constitution than a normal parson." Esdeath was amused "Hehe. Do you thing you can defeat all pf Us, all by yourself?" Bishop looked at her calmly "I will try. It is impossible for me to allow to be harmed, a human being."

Seryu clenched a tight hold on Newt "What kind of logic is that!? Are you saying, you're willing to hurt humans, to save humans!? Aren't you contradicting yourself!?" Bishop turned to the auburn haired murderess, and answered "My programming defines humanity as a sentient species of hominids originating as natives of Earth. Although, the people of this World are just like the humans from the Sol System, your origins seems to be solely of this World itself, and therefore nulls the qualifications to be defined as human. Especially you, General Esdeath. Your anatomy may be consistent with that of a human, but further analysis of your morphology reveals certain anomalies not found in other people. I suspect your Imperial Arm, Demon's Extract has altered you're body at a possible genetic level, and thus granted you some form of cryokinesis as a result."

Esdeath conjured an ice javelin from thin air, and left suspended and pointed towards Bishop. "Quite an astute observation. Now, how does that tie into the current situation?" Bishop then explained "It means, if you try to hurt my Comrades, I will try to stop you, and most likely be destroyed in the attempt." Hicks then explains the rest "And you will lose the only one capable of piloting this ship. You then won't have any way of maneuvering." He smirks "You'll either crash, or drift aimlessly through the emptiness of space. Without Bishop, this vessel will essentially become your tomb."

Esdeath's sapphire eyes narrowed. All around, her Subordinates looked between their leader and the artificial person, with uncertainty.

The tense silence was promptly interrupted by Ripley's chuckling "Hehe. Do you get it now? You harm either of Us, and You lose your one way of safely getting back home. You are no longer in your World. You're in Ours. And you have to play by Our rules." Esdeath's expression was lethal, but she withdrew her rapier away from Ripley's face. The General's sword was still pointed at the Lieutenant "You think you have us trapped. But, you're only prolonging the inevitable. I'm still in control here. Not you. And I'm still going to make you all suffer, once this is all over…"

Esdeath ordered Seryu and her Imperial Soldiers to gather up Newt and Mine, and place them next to Ripley. "As soon as we get aboard the Sulaco, my Subordinates and I will be the first to disembark. We'll be taking Ripley, Mine, and Newt with us to ensure Hicks and Bishop's compliance. If anyone tries anything, We'll butcher the three of them alive." Seryu pried Ripley's Pulse Rifle/Flamethrower from the Lieutenant's hands, and steadied the Flamethrower's nozzle towards Mine. Koro growled, and bared his sharp teeth at Newt as the Little Girl stared back unflinchingly.

"I want what you had once offered me, Ripley. So I'll be taking your ship, it's arsenal, and the Aliens' location." Esdeath declared. She beckoned for Bishop and Hicks to return to the Dropship's controls, which both quietly did. Esdeath glances back a Ripley, and smiles once more "Relax, Ripley. I'm not going to kill you all outright. After all…" she points to the cockpit window, and the stars beyond "I still want you to show me the location to your so-called Earth."

A loud beep sounded off from the pilot controls, and Bishop turned his attention to a small HUD screen "Sulaco detected, off our port-bow. Initiating docking procedures."

Out past the cockpit window, Everyone can see the growing silhouette of the Conestoga-class starship as it loomed within the blackness of outer space, waiting for its crew to return. Almost all of the Dropship's occupants including Mine, Newt, the Imperial Soldiers, Seryu, and even Esdeath stared in awe at the intimidating and battle hardened war machine, as it got bigger and bigger during their approach. The image of the U.S.S. Sulaco grew to the point where the entire view from the cockpit window was blocked by the Sulaco's massive hull.

No one noticed Ripley looking at Hicks, as the Corporal winked at her, and shut off a display screen that was showing a countdown timer. The Lieutenant nodded with grim satisfaction and quietly began to hum a tune to herself ("…you're my…lucky…star…")

A small portion of the Sulaco's belly opened, after a pair of large hydraulic hatches split and widened to receive its boarders. Clamps extended and cradled the smaller vessel, as the outer doors folded closed and the drop bay started to pressurize. Once pressurization was complete, a portal above split open to allow passage inside.

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Outer Space**

The quiet gloom of cavernous Hangar within the Sulaco was suddenly interrupted, as flashing white klaxons flickered and powered on, to announce the arrival of the UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship. A massive docking crane loomed overhead, as it maneuvered in place above the drop bay, and reached down to fish out the Dropship through the open passageway. The crane held the ship aloft, while the drop bay doors shut, then lowered the vessel onto the doors that acted as its landing platform. All of the corresponding machinery whined down, as they fulfilled the task of successfully docking the inbound boarding party.

Hicks and Bishop were forced back into their seats within the cockpits. Esdeath then had heir hands bound behind the back of their seats by tight-fitting ice cuffs. "This'll ensure the two of you don't go anywhere or try anything…" Esdeath announced "If either of you attempt to free yourselves, I'll kill the others." Both the Corporal and the Science Officer nodded in compliance. They both knew they couldn't put Ripley, Newt, and Mine at risk. They'll have to obey the enemy General, for now...

The Dropship's loading ramp lowered open, and most of its passengers disembarked. Ripley was the first one to step into the Hangar. Beside her were Mine and Newt. The trio were then accompanied by Esdeath, Seryu, and Koro, with the General pointing her rapier towards Ripley's back, the Subordinate doing the same with the combo weapon aimed toward Mine's, and the biological Imperial Arm growling threateningly at Newt. Behind them, the rest of Esdeath's Imperial Soldiers followed close in rank and file lineup.

The Jaegers' leader gazed all around the Hangar, to get the layout of her surroundings. Stacks of crates and boxes, both large and small cluttered about around the spacious area, accompanied by several dooly carts and hand trucks carrying half assembled ordinance and munitions. Lining along the walls were bulkhead doors the leading into separate cargo bays, elevators and turntable platforms that led onto separate decks, and an offshoot doorway to a fully stocked armory.

Seryu stood tense and alert "Where is this ship's crew? Why hasn't anyone come down her, to greet Us?" Esdeath held her rapier up at Ripley "Because, there's nobody up here. We're the only ones aboard this ship. Right, Ripley?" Ripley gave her a solemn smirk "That's correct. I was bullshitting about that part, too."

Esdeath prodded Ripley forward with her rapier. "Take us to the Bridge, show me how to control this ship. Or, I'll have Seryu blow a limb off of your Night Raid friend." Ripley didn't respond to her, and remained standing in place. Before the blue haired General can prod the Lieutenant again, the lights went out, and an electronic voice sounded out.

" _ **Attention. Emergency. Gravity generator and main lights are currently offline in this sector. Initiating reboot. Please, stand by…**_ **"**

"Now!" Ripley called out in the darkness, followed by the rustling sound of rapid body movement.

"Kill Them!" Esdeath roared, as she stabbed in front of her. Seryu instantly obeyed, and pulled the trigger to the Pulse Rifle, and Koro does likewise, by chomping down with his enlarged jaws. As soon as the lights were turned off, they came back on, and all three assailants realized their targets weren't in front of them. They had disappeared.

"Where in the Hell, did they go!?" Seryu ranted, as every Imperial looked around in confusion. Only Esdeath was the one to look up, and found where Ripley, Mine, and Newt went. They were sitting atop the Dropship's docking crane, and out of reach. "Up there!" Esdeath yelled, and all of her Subordinates began aiming their weapons upwards.

"Stay down, and hold onto something!" Ripley urged at Mine and Newt, and they both complied without question.

 _Bam! Kabam! Rat-ta-ta-ta! Shink! Shink!_ The entire Hangar rang out with the noises of rifle fire and hurled ice javelins. The projectiles sailed up at hiding trio, and passed harmlessly over the cover of the docked Dropship and its adjacent crane. There was no chance of a straight shot reaching its target.

"Get down from there!" Seryu spat, as she worked the pump-action to the Grenade Launcher _Ch-chk!_ Esdeath then hastily froze the weapon in Seryu's metal arms "Don't use that! You could damage the ship!" she then pointed up at the metal crossbeams along the Hangar's ceiling "Find a way up there, and flush them out!"

With a scowl, Seryu slung Ripley's frozen combo weapon, and called out to her biological Imperial Arm. "Koro! Number 4!" Koro then clamped his large mouth on Seryu's left arm, and replaced it with the Hook Shot.

Using her now equipped Hook Shot, Seryu sent a grappling hook onto an overhanging girder along the Hangar's ceiling. She then began to reel herself up to a better vantage point, with Koro hanging tightly on her shoulder.

"Spread Out!" Esdeath commanded her Soldiers "We need to find a better line of sight, to get at them." The Imperial Soldiers obediently began to fan out, under their General's orders. But, much to their surprise, they've found themselves floating slowly off the floor, and bobbing aimlessly through the air. "Get your bearings! It's only weightlessness." Esdeath assured, as she conjured ice, and froze her legs in place on the Hangar floor "I'll make some ice, to provide leverage."

"Too Late…" Ripley growled, as she wrapped her arms tightly around Newt and a cluster of pipes and cables in front of them. She turned aside, and made sure Mine was doing likewise as well.

In the middle of Esdeath's group of Imperial Soldiers, a large hatch on the floor retracted open to a cautionary alarm. Esdeath and all her Soldiers turned around to observe this new development with surprised curiosity. The hatch itself had fully opened revealing a compartment leading further down below. Inside was another hatch surrounded by yellow claxon lights, and a set of words written in bold lettering "OUTER DOOR. KEEP CLEAR."

Suddenly, the alarms intensify and the claxon lights glared brightly, as the Outer Doors began to part. _Wooosshh!_ The small opening immediately began to vent atmosphere, as it grew more and more.

"Eeyaaa!" "Arrgghh!" "Wahhh!" Imperial Soldiers began to scream in panic, as one by one, the vacuum of space would pull them through the passage of the Loading Lock, out through the opened doors, and into the dark fathomless Void.

Many Imperial Soldiers struggled to hold onto whatever anchor they can find, but as the forceful vacuum of venting atmosphere intensified, more and more Soldiers continued to be swept up and sucked out into the blackness of Space.

Only Esdeath remained where she stood, since she cleverly froze her feet onto the solid foundation of the floor. She looked around for any way to reseal the Outer Doors, but was forced to deal with flying debris of various cargo and equipment being thrown around her by the turbulent vacuum of venting atmosphere. One such items, a semi-assembled missile laying on its maintenance trolley, came sliding over towards Esdeath's position.

"Oh no, you don't…" Esdeath muttered, as she began to focus on her abilities "Mahapadma-" Despite her abilities freezing everything in place of the Trump Card's radius, the outside influence of interstellar Void continued to suck out all loose debris. The missile came ramming its way into Esdeath before the Jaegers' leader could react. _Wham!_ The sapphire eyed woman staggered back with the wind nearly knocked out or her, as the tip of the partially assembled missile rammed into her gut. She glanced down at her legs, and saw the force of the debris had knocked her loose from her icy foothold. She tried to freeze any of her limbs against whatever hold she can find, but the vortex of vacuum kept her away from any purchase, as she practically flew towards the wide open hatch of the gaping Outer Doors.

Esdeath had only an instant to think, before being thrown out into the vast emptiness of Space. "Space. Vacuum. Air-Tight…" without hesitating, the General instantly covered herself in a ball of ice. She was well out past the Outer Doors, and now drifted through the infinite darkness of the Void, yet she continued to concentrate on making her ice ball larger and thicker around her. Her idea had worked.

 **Above the Empire's Atmosphere, Outer Space**

Esdeath looked up, took a moment to study her surroundings. Above her, was the ever shrinking shape of the Sulaco, as she continued to plummet further away from the ship. Below her, she can see the massive body of the World she had just left when boarding the Dropship with Ripley and Company. Everywhere else around her, were the bodies of dead or dying Imperial Soldiers. They had all been ravaged by the unforgiving conditions of Outer Space. Their mouths were wet from spewing up gallons of their own blood. Their eyes had been popped out of their skulls by the sudden loss of pressure.

From the safety of her ice ball, Esdeath stared out in disbelief at the last remaining Imperial Soldiers struggling to stay alive. They were the three, whom Ripley had began hostilities with, on account of their rape of a woman from the Ban Tribe. Their Commander looked on as the last three Soldiers entered into their final spasms and convulsions of their bodies releasing the life within them to pass on into the darkness.

With nothing she could do for her dead Subordinates, Esdeath turned away from the carnage, and looked back up at the now distant Sulaco. She wanted to get back up there, somehow. She wanted to end Ripley and her Comrades' lives with her bare hands, for what the Lieutenant had done to the General and her Soldiers.

Then, something else got Esdeath's attention. The face of the planet below, was rapidly getting larger. She was beginning to descend into atmospheric re-entry. Knowing what will come next, Esdeath concentrates every ounce of her strength into focusing her ice powers towards maintaining and reinforcing her ice ball, to keep it from melting in the heat of re-entry…

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Outer Space**

" _ **Loading Lock sealed. Gravity restored to Hangar. Lights restored to 65 percent capacity."**_

After the electronic voice finished speaking, Ripley, Mine, and Newt began to carefully climb down off the docking crane and along the side of the docked Dropship.

When they finally reached the bottom, both Ripley and Mine searched around them for signs of any remaining Imperials.

"I think We got them all." Ripley announced. Mine then looked up, and suddenly shoved Ripley out of the way. _Crash!_ Something came down hard against the floor where Ripley had once stood just a second ago. Ripley, Mine, and a startled Newt looked up to see Seryu kneeling down atop a large dent in the floor made by her kicking heel.

"What have you done to General Esdeath!?" Seryu inquired hatefully. Unfathomable rage boiled within her as she stood up and turned towards the shocked trio. Koro drop down beside her, with his sharp teeth glistening, as he growled maliciously.

Ripley was the first one who spoken up "I did what no one else could do." she answered in a satisfied tone "I killed General Esdeath. Your Leader is history…"

With tears streaming down her contorted face, Seryu bellowed out to her biological Imperial Arm "Koro! Smart Gun!" Koro enlarged his mouths once again, and clamped down on Seryu's entire upper torso. When he opened his jaws back up, Seryu was unveiled to be completely outfitted with a Smart Gun assembly including its harness, tracking eyepiece, stabilizing arm, and the weapon itself.

"I'm going to make you suffer for this! Justice must be served! Esdeath will be Avenged!" Seryu screamed hysterically.

Ripley began to inch sideways, while calling out to her "Take your best shot! That's all you're good for, you Pussy!" Seryu trained the Smart Gun on an unarmed Ripley, while the latter glanced sidelong at Mine and Newt and whispered "run…" both girls got the hint, and quickly ran for cover. Newt dropped down beneath a maintenance opening under the Hangar's grated floor. Mine ducked behind a secured pile of cargo boxes and loading crates.

Realizing at the last moment of their attempt at escape, Seryu fired the Smart Gun at where Mine and Newt had once stood _Boom! Boom! Boom!_ The shots went wide and ricocheted elsewhere deep in the Hangar.

While Seryu was distracted, Ripley made for the Cargo Bay section, and ran with all the speed she can muster. Seryu cocked her head aside, and realized much to her fury, she had been directed to misfire.

"Koro! Rip her to shreds!" Seryu roared, and the biological Imperial Arm obeyed by charging after the fleeing Ripley. The Lieutenant crossed underneath the Cargo Bay's thick and heavy door, and slammed her fist against the door control button. _Vvrrnn!_ The sturdy reinforced door came rumbling down and thudded close, effectively blocking Ripley off from a pursuing Koro and the rest of the Hangar. _Bam! Bash!_ The biological Imperial Arm bashed himself against the unyielding bulkhead door, as Ripley stepped away and looked around for anything she can use against her enemies. "There's gotta be something in here! Something, I can use to bring that Monster down…There!" She spotted her solution standing in the center of the room. She then hurriedly climbed into it, and strapped herself in.

 _Bash! Bash! Kyuahh!_ Koro continuously beat his large fists against the door to the cargo bay, refusing to give up the chase for his designated target. Until Seryu called him back "Forget that wicked woman, for now!" she pointed at a floor grate "Find the Little Girl, and bring her to me! That'll surely draw Ripley out to us."

Koro obediently stepped away from the bulkhead door, and stalked along the hangar in an attempt to locate Newt beneath the floor grating. He can see the Little Girl scurry beneath him past the steel mesh of floor paneling. With a menacing growl, the biological Imperial Arm grabbed at the grated floor paneling, and yank it out from under him. With a massive hand, he tried to snatch at Newt as she narrowly evaded him by crawling further down the floor partition. They kept up this game of hide and seek, until Koro pulled out the last panel, and reached out for a cornered Newt.

"Come out, you Evildoers, and face your Judgement!. Or, I'll have Koro devour the girl!" demanded Seryu. Koro's fingers inched closer to Newt, and the Little Girl let out a scream.

 _Vvrrrnn!_ A low rumbling sounded throughout the hangar, as the cargo bay doors slid up and slowly retracted open. Behind the bulkhead doors was Ripley. She was buckled within the operating frame of a large mechanized exo-suit. The bulky machine was colored an industrial yellow, stood on two hydraulic gyro-stabled legs, and had large vice-like claws on each mechanical arm that work as clamps for loading cargo.

 _Whrrvvv!_ Ripley activated the controls to the Power Loader, and stomped out through the cargo bay door towards the hangar, where her onlookers watched in surprise and bewilderment. Once she got clear of the bulkhead doors, the heavy equipment driver stood there, gripping hard on her controls, and wearing the enraged expression of a protective mother. "Get away from her, you BITCH!" Ripley called out from the confines of the Loader's titanium safety cage.

Koro reared up, and faced her threateningly, as Ripley spread the Power Loader's arms out in readiness.

Seryu eyed Ripley, with a stunned expression. Then her expression grew more twisted with intense hatred and blood-thirst "Koro! Prey!" she commanded, and the biological Imperial Arm launched himself at both woman and machine, jaws wide open and spinning horizontally.

 _Slam!_ Ripley brought down the Loader's left arm, and hammered Koro down to the floor. _Gyuahh!_ Koro picked himself up, _Wham!_ and was knocked aside, when the Power Loader threw him another blow. The biological Imperial Arm was sent careening over a pile of boxes _Crash!_

"Koro!" Seryu screamed out in shock But, to the auburn haired murderess' relief, Koro regenerated from his injuries, and stood back up. With confidence growing, and body charged with adrenaline, Ripley yelled out from within the Power Loader safety cage "C'mon!"

Furious with the gesture, Seryu bellowed at her biological Imperial Arm "Koro! Pulverize!" Egged on and goaded, Koro charged at the Power Loader with renewed fury _Gyaoh!_ His fists became a flurry of punches as he came at Ripley, with the intent of smashing her and the machine into pieces.

Bracing with anticipation, Ripley extends the Loaders vice-like claws in front of her _Whrrr!_ and seized the attacking Koro _Crick! Gyuahh!_ The Power Loader stood rigid, as it grasped the biological Imperial Arm by his throat and left arm.

"Koro!" Seryu called out as she watched both Monster and Machine grapple with each other. _Whrv!_ Ripley manipulated the controls, and tried to have the Loader's claw pull off the monster Imperial Arm's head. Koro reacted fast, by holding the Power Loader's arm in place with his free hand _Clinch!_ And now both combatants stood deadlocked.

"Stay strong, Koro! I've got you covered" Seryu hefted the Smart Gun, and engaged the tracking display. Only one target reticle appeared in range, as it highlighted Koro's body, but none other would show for locking onto the Power Loader or Ripley in it.

"What the hell is wrong with this gun!?" Seryu snarled "Why isn't it working properly!?" She began shaking the weapon in frustration, then turned at the sound of footsteps behind her. "It's because you don't fully understand the Smart Gun's specifications." Mine answered, as she approached from the cover behind the stack of loading crates "You shouldn't simply pick up any weapon, and expect that it would automatically begin working for you."

Seryu swung the weapon around, and aimed towards Mine "I salvaged this mighty weapon, and repurposed it for the cause of serving Justice! I even received instructions on how to use this Smart Gun, from that worthless Criminal, Hudson."

Mine cocked an eyebrow "Who?" The amber eyed murderess then grinned insidiously "Oh, that's right. You don't even know, because no one's ever told the Villainous Night Raid or their scum consort Colonial Marines." She then chuckled maniacally "Hehehe…We captured one of Hicks' Comrades, while investigating the ruins of the Hadley colony." Seryu then quoted "Private First Class, William Hudson, A08/TQ1.0.41776E3. A Combat Technician of 2nd Battalion Bravo Team." Her face then began to warp "We brought him back to camp, and We made him spill out every single detail about the Aliens and the Colony." She traced her hand along the white writing on the side of the weapon "He even shared every detailed information about Marine weapons and technology, including how to operate this Smart Gun."

Seryu began to cackle hysterically "Ahahaha! Hudson was so afraid of dying, he told Us everything he knew, just to save his own skin." She stopped her laughter, and steadied the weapon "Not, that it made any difference. I still dealt with him in the end! The same way I've dealt with that friend of yours with the glasses. She made an excellent snack for Koro, so will You! Ehehe..."

Mine was unfazed by the revelation. She only made a disgusted expression, and spoke "You know, during Our brief moments in each other's company, I've learned a lot about you Seryu Ubiquitous." The auburn haired young woman listened closely, as the pink haired teen explained "You talk about serving Justice, yet you blindly trusted Captain Ogre and Doctor Stylish without realizing they're the ones who were Evil. Same was your precious General Esdeath, whom you idolized. Her crimes and heinous acts were beyond horrible, but despite all that, you still obey her unquestioningly. You even struck Newt, when she tried to show you the truth about all the Evils the General's committed. You would assault little children, just to cover up all the Empire's atrocities and misdeeds. And, that twisted laugh you've just made, it was no different than that of an evil sadistic maniac."

Mine held her hand out, and pointed accusingly at Seryu "You're a Bad Person, who enjoys hurting others, and would relish any excuse to do it. Just like how Newt described your General Esdeath and her ilk. It's no wonder why you admired those kind of People. You're just like the rest of them, a killer, power-hungry, and amoral. Which aspect appealed the most? Having everything, while leaving nothing for others. Or is it because it's so easy to fold, and take the path of least resistance, by doing what you're told." Seryu was about to retort, but Mine cut her off by continuing "You don't serve Justice! You only serve yourself, by siding with the Strong as they prey on the lesser, meager individuals, while you yourself turn a blind eye and deaf ear to all of their suffering." Mine's eyes narrowed "And, you'd purposely forfeited your moral integrity and even your body, in pursuit of more power and strength. All because you can't stand being on the losing side, in a World where Might makes Right. You'd rather win at any cost, and gloss over your ill-gotten victories as some vindictive crusade towards the noble cause of serving Justice, or divine providence."

Seryu glowered, as Mine continued to speak condescendingly "You're Insane. And a Coward. And a Liar. You may not be Night Raid's target. But, for the sake of the World, You must perish..."

"Are you feeling better, now that you've let all that out?" Seryu asked mockingly "You seemed to have forgotten, I'm the one holding the gun." She steadies the Smart Gun, and reached her finger towards the trigger "Evil is so foolish…" Seryu pulled the trigger. _Click!_ And nothing happened.

"Huh!?" Seryu was confused, as she tried pulling the Smart Gun's trigger once more _Click!_ But to no avail. The weapon won't fire, so long as it's pointed towards Mine. "What's wrong with this stupid gun! Why won't it shoot!?"

"Heh…" Mine made a smirk "I guess, Hudson didn't tell you about the IFF Recognition Software that was programmed in each of those weapons." She held up a hand, and indicated to a small green accessory on her wrist that resembled a wristwatch "Each one of these devices has a special chip, that prevents friendly fire from a fellow Marine's weapon." she explains "So long as I wear this, that Smart Gun can never be used to harm me."

"Rahhh!" Seryu angrily ripped hard at the Smart Gun harness' release strap _Clatter!_ The weapon came away, and fell to the floor instantly.

"I don't need that useless piece of shit weapon, to complete your Judgement!" _Pop!_ Seryu's mechanical arms came away, and popped right off, revealing a gun-barrel attached to each stump of her arms. "I still have these to rely on!" Seryu reveals her mouth gun, and aimed all three gun barrels at a startled Mine. "Is that?…!" the pink haired assassin immediately dove for cover behind the loading crates, as the auburn haired murderers yells out "Justice Execution!" _Kabam! Bam! Bam!_ The shots rang out within the Hangar, as two rounds tore past Mine, with a third narrowly grazing her on the side.

"Hngh!" Mine grunted, as she rolled out of Seryu's line of sight. She then quickly stood up, while nursing the bleeding cut from where the bullet scratched her. Any closer, and she would have ended up bleeding profusely from a deeper wound.

"Come out!" Seryu demanded "You can't hide from Justice! You can only sit and cower, while I eventually purge your Evil from the face of this World!" Behind the stack of crates, Mine climbed up over them, and risked a glance at Seryu's position.

"Good. She's keeping her attention diverted towards me and not Ripley. I just need to keep her distracted…" Looking down from atop the cargo pile, Mine saw Newt come out from beneath the floor, and hurried straight up the Dropship's loading ramp. Before Seryu could notice the fleeing little girl, Mine picked up a nearby supply box, and flung it down towards Seryu, yelling "Come and get me!" The crate came flying towards Seryu's face, but the accurate Jaeger shot it once, and made it explode into a mess of scattered food packets.

Seryu followed up her counter, and sent a barrage towards a perched up Mine which forced her to duck back behind the pile.

Meanwhile, back over at Ripley and Koro, their stalemate continued until the biological Imperial Arm raised his right fist away from the Power Loader's arm gripping his neck, and began raining blow after blow against the Power Loader's safety cage. _Clang! Clang! Clang!_ Ripley's teeth rattled and jarred, as each impact sent a shockwave throughout the operating frame.

Realizing she was at a disadvantage, Ripley worked the controls, and forced the Power Loader into shoving away the biological Imperial Arm. Koro backed away, and growled menacingly, satisfied that his ploy had worked out.

Not wanting to give the biological Imperial Arm any moment of respite, Ripley frantically swung the Loader's arms at Koro, hoping to connect another blow. But the Power Loader's movements were too one-dimensional and easily predictable, as Koro bobbed and weaved around the machine, dodging each attack with anticipation.

Seeing that it was getting her nowhere, Ripley let up on her futile assault, and watched Koro, as they both stared each other down.

As Koro continued to size her up, Ripley stole a glance around the Hangar, in search of anything else for her to use to her advantage. To her left, she spotted the loading lock hatch where she had managed to send Esdeath and her Imperial Soldiers out into the blackness of space. That hatch can open again via remote from the Power Loader's controls, but she decided against it. "That trick can only work once." she reasoned "I'll have to use something else…"

To her right, Ripley noticed the loading hooks on an overhead service crane that was used for retrieving heavy freight containers from the far side of the cargo bay. Seeing it was her only other option, Ripley thumbed the controls, and activated the crane. Its claws and hooks retracted and flexed, as it processed the remote commands Ripley was sending to it, using the Power Loader's controls.

After receiving its orders, the crane zipped along its spoke at high speed, as it followed through on Ripley's instruction.

"Koro! Stop wasting time, and eat that woman already!" Seryu commanded, as she shot apart another box Mine had threw at her. This crate blew apart as well, and sent medical supplies scattering everywhere this time.

Koro parted his jaws, and displayed rows upon rows of his sharp teeth towards Ripley. _Kyuaahhh!_ In a predatory growl, the monster Imperial Arm surged towards Ripley and the Power Loader, with his mouth gaping wide open.

Ripley reacted in time, and brought the Loader's arms out front, and spread its claws open as much as they could. _Snatch!_ The Power Loader managed to catch both of Koro's arm, and held the ravenous Imperial Arm at bay.

Undaunted by this sudden hindrance, Koro stretched his head and neck as far out as he can, to bring his mouth closer to Ripley, and manage snap his jaws around the solid bars of the safety cage. _Chomp! Clang!_ The safety cage successfully kept the biological Imperial Arm from biting off Ripley's upper torso, but the bars were starting to groan in protest, as Koro continued to exert as much force as he can towards his bite.

Ripley looked around her in horror, when she sees Koro's cruelly sharp teeth began to inch closer toward her, as the safety cage began to bend under the tremendous pressure of Koro's bite attack. Fortunately, the Lieutenant had one more card to play.

Flipping off its safety cover, Ripley reached for the switch to the Power Loader's onboard welding torch, and flicked if on. _Pffsshhh!_ A stream on fire shot out from within the welder's nozzle, and began to burn away at Koro's face.

 _Gyuahh!_ Koro squealed in pain, as his face began to slowly burn off from the welder's flame. He tried backing away from Ripley, in the hopes of getting away from the torch, and try to recover from his injuries. But, Ripley worked at the controls, and the Power Loader tighten its vice-like claws, in order to restrain the biological Imperial Arm, and keep him from escaping _Whrrr! Crunch! Gyuahh!_ Koro squealed once more, as his attempts at an escape proved useless, and his face continued to burn.

Almost half of Koro's face was burned away, when Ripley noticed a small round, red-colored orb embedded within the monster Imperial Arm's flesh. "What is that?" Ripley wondered in surprise.

Over at the stack of loading crates, Mine risked a view from cover, and noticed the red hue of the gem-like orb. "Ripley, that's the core! Go for the core, and destroy it!" she called out urgently. _Kabam!_ Mine ducked in time, just as Seryu sent another bullet her way. Seryu looked back over at Koro, and saw the predicament he was in. "Koro! Use your Trump Card! Go Berserk Mode!"

Koro's eyes began to savagely twist and warp, as he began his transformation. His fur began to turn blood-red, his muscles began to increase in ripples and density, and his overall size grew larger than before. After his change is complete, the Berserker Imperial Arm widen his mouth again to the point of nearly tearing up his cheeks, and emitted a powerful roar blast. _Graoohhh!_

Ripley's ears rang from the point-blank hit of the sound based attack. Thankfully, her time as a Flight Officer and later a Cargo Dock Worker, made her accustomed to the similarly loud noise in front of her, and has most likely given her tinnitus. Her experience with large scale sound blast later expanded, recalling the times back then when she heard the same intensity of such a sound, from when she set the Nostromo to self-destruct, and her small shuttle/lifeboat the Narcissus had to outrun the devastating blast radius. Also, from when she tried to escape the Atmosphere Processor after rescuing Newt, with multiple explosions happening all around the overloading Processing Station.

Undeterred by the overwhelming sound, Ripley looked on, and noticed the Power Loader was being knocked back by the force of the roar blast. As the Machine staggered backward, Koro managed to slip out of its grasp, and free him hands. He immediately reached out, grabbed the welding torch mounted on the Power Loader's safety cage, and with an effortless yank, he tore out the welder from its bracket.

Ripley steadied the Loader, and looked up in time to see a massive red fist shoot out towards her. _Wham!_ The operating frame jolted tremendously, after taking a straight on punch from the Berserker Imperial Arm. The Power Loader trembled and jarred, and Ripley within nearly bit her tongue. She looks on in panic, as Koro once again threw another punch at her. This time, she threw up both of the Loader's arm, to dampen the blow, and took another hit. _Wham!_

"Ugh!" Ripley grunted, as she struggled to maintain balance. Even as Koro rained down blow after blow against her. Each hit becoming harder than the last.

"Death, by Beating!" Seryu called out in frenzied malice, before turning back to resume her hunt for Mine.

 _Wham!_ "Urgh!" _Wham!_ "Uwaa!" _WHAM!_ "Argh!"

"He's killing her!" Mine remarked, as she observed the brutal onslaught from the safety of her perch. "I gotta do something! I can't let it happen again…" the pink haired gunner grew angry and frustrated with herself, as she watched in utter helplessness, the same as she was back then, when she had watched helplessly as her friend Sheele lost her life to that same abominable Imperial Arm and his demented wielder.

The Koro finally let up on his barrage, as Ripley hobbled back to find that she and her Machine have been forced into a corner.

The Power Loader was in bad shape. _Kzzzt! Kzzzt!_ Random sparks of electricity arced out from damaged lines and wires. Small stacks of smoke began to vent from various joints and servos. The controls to Loader's right arm was moving sluggishly, while the left arm wasn't responding at all as it hanged uselessly to the side of the operating frame. Ripley peered out from behind the twisted metal of the safety cage's mangled bars. It wasn't going to hold anymore. One good blow might be enough to break it apart. Koro must have understood it as well, because he was once again opening his jaws wide, to attempt another bite. This time, not even the Power Loader's defenses would be adequate enough to repel the Berserker Imperial Arm.

Then, above the middle of both Monster and Machine, the service crane returned from its errand, carrying a bulky freight container it had winched up from elsewhere in the cargo bay. Its task complete, the overhead crane waited on its spoke, with its heavy burden poised for release at any given order.

Ripley eyed the container above, and readied her left hand to press the button to the crane's controls, to drop the cargo on her command. "C'mon! Wait are you waiting for? Do it!" Ripley demanded, as she noticed Koro's hesitation. The Berserker Imperial Arm gazed up at the crane, then at the freight hanging above them, and observed what might happen if he came under it.

"Kill me! I'm right here! Do it now! Kill me! C'mon!" Ripley screamed, hoping to goad the Monster into finishing her. Koro took one last look at the crane above, and began to sidestep around it. To Ripley's frustration, the Berserker Imperial Arm came along the side carefully in an attempt to avoid the crane.

Ripley fumbled at the controls, desperately trying to readjust the crane's position. But Koro had already caught on, and made sure to stay clear of the overhead railing of the crane's transport spoke. Which had him moving right underneath the bulkhead doors to the cargo bay.

Without hesitation, Ripley jabbed at the controls to the cargo bay doors. The massive doors came rumbling down on an unsuspecting Koro. The Berserker Imperial was so intent on avoiding the crane and its hanging cargo, that he failed to notice the closing door as it slammed down hard on his head like a makeshift guillotine, pinning him down by his neck. _Crash! Graaooohhh!_

Seryu turned to see what happened, and let out a scream "Koro!" She was just about to rush over to him, until a small crate hurled into her back. _Bam!_ She turns back around to face a smug Mine who was holding up another box and was readying to throw. "Forgot about me already? I thought, you were going to render Judgement on me personally?" Mine said mockingly. Seryu growled in pure hatred, and resumed firing at the evasive sniper. _Kabam! Kabam!_

The Berserker Imperial laid flat against the floor, with the cargo bay doors resting above him. Only his head was visible, as the rest of his body was obscured by the cover of the bulkhead door. He tried to place his arms in front of him, and force his way out, but his massive body couldn't slip through easily underneath. And he knows, if he pulls his head out from the other direction, the door would completely shut and effectively isolate him from Seryu and her enemies. He will have to try to wedge his whole body forward, and try to lift the cargo bay door off of him.

Ripley stood there, and watched in relief at the trapped Monster. Her relief as short-lived however, as Koro already began making a tremendous effort in lifting the heavy door off his neck. His hands had found purchase on the grated floor, and had started to push-up with all his might.

"This bastard just won't quit!" Ripley muttered, watching in disbelief as the cargo bay door began to slowly open back up.

"Ripley! The Head! The core is inside the Head!" Mine called out again, before ducking back behind some crates to avoid Seryu's gunfire. "Stay still. And let me shoot you!" roared Seryu.

Koro looks up at Ripley, with ravenous, frenzied eyes, and continues to slowly lift up the heavy bulkhead. Ripley pressed various buttons, as she began typing instructions into the Power Loader's controls "Reduce power flow to the legs, by 50%...Cut all power to the left arm…Now divert all remaining power to the right arm's claw…" The vice-like claw began to spin and rotate faster and faster, with its motor whining loudly as it operated under excess power _Whrrv-rrv-rrv-rv-rv-rv!..._ The clamp itself began to blur, as it kept on turning with increasing speed, essentially becoming a makeshift drill.

Realizing what Ripley and the Power Loader were about to do, Koro struggled desperately to get himself clear from beneath the cargo bay door.

Too late

"Hrraaggghhh!" With a vicious snarl, Ripley plunges the Power Loader's spinning claw into the Berserker Imperial Arm's broad face _Schluck! Rip! Shred! Squelch!_ Chunks of flesh came away, as the drilling claw bore deeper into Koro's cranium. In no time, the whole of Koro's body began to dissipate in a cloud of steam and smoke. All that remained was a red jewel-like orb held up and steadily suspended by the Loader's vice-like loading clamp. With nothing holding up the bulkhead door, it came slamming down hard in a resounding _Thud!_

Seryu turned around to investigate the noise, and looked on in time to see Ripley in the Power Loader holding up Koro's core, as the Machine crushes the orb itself between the vice-like claw. Much to her shock and horror, Seryu watched in stunned disbelief, as Ripley threw down the shards of the shattered core, and stomped it underfoot with the Loader's hydraulic leg. _Crush!_

"KOORRROOOO!" Seryu screamed at the top of her lungs, and watched in growing grief and rage, as Ripley made the Power Loader stomp a second time _Thud!_ Afterwards, there was nothing left of Imperial Arm, Hekatonkeires, but a pile of red dust.

Seryu's face began to twist and warp with murderous rage, as she watched Ripley still looking down at the powdered remains of Koro's core. The heavy equipment operator was unaware of the auburn haired murderess taking aim from behind with her mouth gun…

 _Kabam! Ping!_ The bullet ricocheted harmless, as it bounced off of the Power Loader's metal chassis. As long as Ripley remained inside the confines of the Loader's operating frame covering most of her body, no indirect ranged attack can hit her. Save for a point blank shot from the front.

"That trick won't work this time, you fucking Psycho!" Mine taunted, but Seryu ignored her, and charged towards Ripley and the Power Loader, for a frontal assault.

Suddenly, someone stepped out of the shadows behind the stacks of cargo boxes on the side, and stood right in Seryu's path.

Seryu took aim at the figure standing in her way, and immediately lowered her weapons, as her surprised expression flashed with recognition "Father?"

The man Seryu was addressing, was tall, had short auburn hair, wore an Imperial Officer's uniform, and a handsome face with a trimmed mustache. He stared at the confused Jaeger, with a stern but caring expression. And then abruptly, his expression became disgusted and hateful ("Wretched girl! How could I have raised such a despicable, ignorant daughter?")

Seryu was shocked by the man's vicious outburst "What are you saying, Father?" Mr. Ubiquitous responded to her question, in a tone of pure loathing ("I'm saying, how can my own Flesh and Blood become a pervasive murderer of innocent people and decent folk?") Seryu could not understand why she was being admonished "What do you mean? I'm making the World a batter place, by serving Justice, and getting rid of all the Evildoers. And how are you alive? Captain Ogre said you were murdered by some evil criminal, on your way home."

Suddenly, a voice called out from the shadows ("Ha! You were actually gullible enough to believe that horse shit.") A large muscular man with a scar over his left eye socket, stepped into view, and stood next to Seryu's Father.

Seryu instantly recognized the scarred man. "Captain Ogre! You're alive!" she exclaimed. Her former mentor ignored her surprise, and continued ("Your Father was one tough Son of a Bitch. Even when I was stabbing him from behind, the bastard still had it in him to do this to my eye.") Ogre then pointed at his scar.

"Captain Ogre, what are you talking about?" Seryu couldn't believe what she is hearing "You said my father gave his life, for the sake of upholding Justice. You said, he was murdered by a lowly criminal whom he was investing and was eventually caught and executed." Ogre grinned and his remaining eye blazed evilly ("And that was all you wanted to hear. You didn't bother to ask, who exactly killed your father, and why did they do it.") He then rubbed his chin thoughtfully ("Well, seeing as I'm already dead and have nothing to lose, I'll come clean, and tell you the truth. I killed your father! I murdered him in cold-blood, and framed an innocent man to cover my tracks.")

The words were heard clearly, but Seryu remained in disbelief "That's not true! You would never do something so horrible!" Ogre kept grinning ("I would, if it meant saving my own skin. Your father learned that I was taking bribes from shady men who had less than savory means of doing business. When he found out about my dealings, he set out to turn me in to our superiors. But, I eliminated him before that could happen.")

Seryu was still not convinced "I don't believe it! You were the one who taught me what Justice is. It means, punishing all of the Evildoers who oppose the Empire." This time, Seryu's Father roared at her ("That is not what Justice is, You Fool!") Beside him, Ogre stopped smiling and concurred ("Wow. I'd never thought you'd be so fucking shallow, in thinking that was all there is to it.")

Another voice spoke out from the shadows ("Come now, you two. There is no need to be so harsh on poor little miss Seryu here.") A tall man with black haired streaked with white, and wearing glasses and a lab coat, stepped into view ("After all, a Weapon doesn't need a reason to kill. It just needs a stylish excuse, to be unleashed upon others in absolute carnage. That's why Seryu came to me, seeking more power. Because nothing is more stylish, than having the strength to brutally slaughter you victims!")

"You're wrong, Dr. Stylish!" Seryu countered "I'm not a Weapon! I'm an Ally of Justice! You partnered me up with Koro, and entrusted me with the Judgement lf the Ten Heavenly Kings, so that I may purge this World of all Evil!." Dr. Stylish just shrugs ("A fake ideal to a pretentious cause, with a wrong assumption. You and your weapons were only meant for one thing, to kill the enemies of the Empire. That's why you were well taken care of, and groomed by Ogre and myself. You have a natural talent for killing, nothing more.")

("That's correct, Dr. Stylish.") a woman's voice sounded out, and Esdeath appeared out of the gloom ("That's why Seryu participated in the Doctor's experiments. She wanted to be strong.") Behind her, stood Wave, Run, Bols with a large bloody hole in his chest, and Kurome.

("Because, that's what Justice is.") continued Esdeath ("The Strong get stronger, by killing the Weak.") Ignoring the impossibility of her teammates being aboard the Sulaco, Seryu deigned to argue "No! I wanted to become strong, to protect the Weak from Evil! I joined the Jaegers, so that We may serve Justice, and fight Evil together!" Wave berates her, with an angry tone ("Wrong! The Jaegers were formed with the sole purpose of killing whoever the Empire tells Us to kill! You were assigned to join, because you wanted the opportunity to indiscriminately murder without right or reason! Like a rabid dog off a leash, and without a muzzle.")

"Justice means doing the right thing." explained Seryu "It is the right thing to do, to obey Empire, and kill all who oppose it.

("Is it right, when a school full of innocent children were raped and murdered?") Run asked ("Is it Justice, when the Empire's local magistrate covered up the crime, and refused to find the culprit, just to save face?")

"The Empire would never turn a blind eye and look the other way, when a crime happens!" Seryu insisted.

("Is it right for the Empire to have burn entire villages to the ground, on suspicion of harboring diseases or rebels?") asked Bols ("Is it Justice, when I reduce countless men, women, and children to ash, while I go home, and live happily with my beautiful wife and loving daughter?")

"Evil infects all people and places!" argued Seryu "Those who purge Evil, earn the right to live in happiness and prosperity."

("Is it right for me and my Big Sis to be sold into slavery?") Kurome asked ("Is it Justice, for the Empire to purchase us in secret, and brutally train us to be ruthless assassins?")

"It is a privilege, to be called upon to serve Justice in the name of the Empire!" Seryu explained.

("Really?") asked another female voice, then Akame walked out of the shadows near Kurome, and held her Little Sister's hand. Behind her stood Tatsumi, Najenda, and Mine.

("Is it right, for the Empire to separate Kurome from me?") Akame asked (Is it Justice, when the Empire brainwashed my Little Sister, then injected her with toxic body-enhancing drugs and chemicals as part of an experiment. And keep her dependent on more drugs, to ensure her loyalty?")

"Justice requires everybody to be in peak performance and condition, to better serve the Empire!" reasoned Seryu.

("Is it right for the Empire to turn away able-bodied men and women who left their home village to join the Military, and save themselves from poverty?") asked Tatsumi ("Is it Justice, for country folk to be left wandering the street, and let the wealthy lure them into their homes to be tortured and killed?")

"If you weren't allowed to join Our ranks, then you are Evil and unworthy to serve Justice!" Seryu declared.

("Is it right for members of the Imperial Army to pillage and destroy an entire foreign tribe?") Najenda asked ("Is it Justice, for Imperial Soldiers to rape and murder women and children, because their sadistic General lets them?")

"Those who live outside the Empire's influence, and deny its greatness are Evil!" Seryu spat "They deserve to suffer horribly, and die pitifully, you traitor!" She aims her left armgun at Najenda threateningly.

("Is it right, for people to hate others who are different?") asked Mine ("Is it Justice, to bully and mistreat a poor lonely girl, for having foreign blood in her veins?")

"Anyone who's parentage aren't from a decent Imperial Citizen, are more than just Evil." cried Seryu "They're Freaks! Abominations, that need to be exterminated!" She aims her right armgun, and made ready to fire.

Suddenly, a woman with glasses, and purple colored hair and dress, stepped out of the shadows, then stood in front of Mine. ("Just in time.") Sheele spoke, as she made ready to shield Mine with her own body, which already had a large bullet hole in her back and out her front.

"You!" snapped Seryu "How can you be alive!? Justice was served! You should be dead, devoured by Koro, and dumped on the Palace's front lawn!"

("Is it right, for some coward to shoot another person in the back?") Sheele make a face of pure loathing ("Is it Justice, to act so righteous and pious, when you used the reward money to fund the research and development of you weapons. And then, use what's left to purchase a new uniform, while people continue to starve in the streets?")

"Justice demands, that all resources be used to destroy Evil, and make the World a better place!" retorted Seryu.

Sheele maintained her loathsome expression, then she gestured to the side ("Tell Them that…")

Seryu looks at the shadows, and sees more people coming out.

The first was a skinny little girl, and a smaller skinnier little boy. ("You executed our mother, for selling her body to feed us.") said the little girl ("Is it Justice, for me and my little brother to die of starvation?")

Before Seryu can answer, another couple appeared. They where two middle-aged men. ("The local garrison gang-raped my daughter!") the first man spoke. Then the second man followed ("They did the same to my young wife! And you've set that Wretched Beast on us, when we tried to defend our loved ones!")

More people continued to walk out of the shadows, and started to surround Seryu.

("You killed my whole family, on suspicion that we were aiding the Rebels!") ("You brought me straight to the Palace, when I wanted to make a formal complaint about the Police. They threw me into the Torture Chamber, where your Commander had me boiled alive!") ("I was kidnapped, and coerced to work with a band of thieves. You mercilessly cut me down, without giving me a chance to prove my innocence!")

They encircled Seryu, chanting accusations that grew in volume. Seryu tried to cover her ears, but her armguns couldn't shut out the noise. She could only listen, as the voices around her began to shout in unison.

("MURDERER!") ("HYPOCRITE!") ("IGNORANT PSYCHO!") ("FUCKING BITCH!")

"Rrraaahhhh!" Seryu's face grew warped and demented "Shut Up, All of You!" she took aim with her weapons "SHUT!" _Kabam!_ "UP!" _Bam! Bam!_ "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" _Kabam! Bam!_ "You're Dead!" _Bam!_ "You are all DEAD!" _Bam! Kabam!_ "Dead People do not talk!" _Kabam!_ _Kabam!_ "You do not talk, because you are dead!" _Bam! Kabam! Bam!_ "You are DEAD, and I'm ALIVE!" _Bam!_ "I'm alive, because I serve Justice!" _Kabam! Bam! Click!_ "I AM JUSTICE!"

"No…" This time, only Newt stood in front of Seryu. "You're a MONSTER. The kind who looks like a person, but does what Monsters do. You work for the Bad People, and kill the Good People."

Face still twisted and warped, Seryu aims all her weapons at a defenseless Newt. _Click! Click! Click!_ Seryu's horrid face returns to normal, as she realized she's completely out of ammo.

"And now, You're going to see what a Monster should look like…" Newt stepped back into the shadows, and Seryu immediately sensed something else stood there.

"Wha…!" Before Seryu could figure out what was happening, That something else stomped out of the shadows where Newt once stood.

 _SHREEE!_ It cried a soul-rending shriek, as It faced down towards a petrified Seryu. The auburn haired murderess' amber eyes widened, as her reasoning gave way to sheer terror, once her mind registered what she was seeing.

The Alien Queen drew Itself to full height, towering over Seryu, as It began to stomp towards her.

Then Seryu screamed "Eiyaaaahhh!" Still screaming, she aimed her weapons, and tried to open fire _Click! Click! Click!_ Ignorant to the fact that her weapons are empty. Desperate, Seryu kept firing dry in the futile hope of repelling the Creature.

The Queen continued Its approach, taking long slow stomps towards the frightened, helpless Seryu. _Shreee!_ With another raging shriek, the Queen raised a large clawed foot high above Seryu's head, and made ready to stomp down hard.

 _Click! Click!_ Seryu continued trying to open fire, too panicked to do otherwise and get out of the way. As the giant foot came down, Seryu made another scream "Eeyaaa!-Huh!?" and gasped in surprise, as she felt herself being tackled to the ground.

Seryu looked up, and realized that the Alien Queen had disappeared. And on top of her was a viciously pissed Mine sitting on top of her and pinning her down.

"What-!" _Thwack!_ Seryu's question and confusion was cut off abruptly, as Mine threw a hard punch across her face. "This time, You get Yours…" Mine snarled darkly, as she forcefully plunged her hand into Seryu's mouth "No more Tricks. No more Gimmicks. No more BullShit!" Mine's fingers grasped what she was reaching for, and with a mighty heave, she tore out the barrel to Seryu's hidden mouth gun.

 _Cough! Arguh!_ Seryu started sputtering blood from her mouth, after the hidden weapon was destroyed. _Whack!_ She then felt another fist collide with her face, as Mine punched her once more.

"Grrr! Hngh!" Seryu tried to get up and retaliate, but the Genius Sniper had positioned herself on top where her legs straddled Seryu's sides and kept the Jaeger's arms pinned down beneath Mine's knees.

"This is for Sheele!" Mine roared, as she threw another punch into Seryu's face _Pow!_

"This is for Newt!" _Slap!_ "This is for Ripley!" _Wham!_ "This is for every single despicable atrocities, You've ever committed in the name of Justice!" _Whack! Wham! Thwack! Pow! Whack!_

By the time Mine had finished her barrage of hits and punches, her fingers and knuckles were swollen and bloody. And Seryu was worse off, patches of purple bruises and welts peppered along the majority of Seryu's face, her nose had been broken flat, jaw was partially dislocated, one eye had swollen completely shut, while the other's amber colored pupil swam in its socket wildly, as its owner experienced the tremendous amount of pain that accompanied such wounds. Much to Seryu's credit, her high threshold for pain kept her from passing out.

"Mine, are you alright?" Newt asked, as she stepped toward the pink haired gunner, and helped her to her feet. Mine stared down at her fingers, and answered "I think so. I let my feelings get the best of me, and it made me snap." With effort and a slight amount of pain, she balled her hands into fists "Though it's her lost in the end."

"Kah. Hah. Hah hah. Ah-hahahaha!"

Mine and Newt turned aside, and saw that Seryu was laughing maniacally.

"Justice never loses." Seryu spoke hysterically "Evil will always be annihilated." She then bit down hard on something _Click!_

"Judgment of the Ten Kings, Final Number. Chakravartin's Furnace of Five Hells."

Mine and Newt stood alert and confused by what Seryu was saying.

"15 seconds left…" Seryu announced.

Mine suddenly understood what was going on "No! A Suicide Bomb!?" Seryu grinned insidiously "This is the Ultimate Evil-Purging Weapon that I've received from Dr. Stylish. As long as I have this in my head, I won't lose!"

Newt activates Spectator, and peered at Seryu's skull. "There! I see it!" Mine immediately began to reach down "We have to get rid of it! Hurgh!" she strained to move her fingers, but they had gone numb and weren't responding. "Dammit!" she growled.

"It's futile!" Seryu crowed triumphantly "With those injuries, there's nothing you can do!" she then continued laughing "Your execution by explosion has already been decided! I'll take this whole Ship with me! Just die, cowering in fear!"

 _Whrrrvvv!_ Right beside Seryu, Ripley brought the Power Loader's heavy leg down on Seryu's pelvis _Crunch!_

"Gugh!" Seryu gasped, as her lower abdominal region had been utterly crushed by 3 tons of exo-suit. "You will never harm another soul, Ever Again!" Ripley snarled, as she operated the Power Loader's controls.

 _Whrrrvv-rrv!_ The Power Loader's right arm lowered over Seryu, Its vice-like claw rested atop of her upper torso _Whhrrvv! Squelch!_ And tore Seryu in half from her midsection.

Seryu's face was contorted in traumatic anguish, as the Power Loader held up her mutilated body. "Get ready to join your Commander…" Ripley growled. Then, she operated the controls, and guided the Machine into stomping along the side of the Hangar.

"Wha-What are you doing!?" Seryu demanded, as she wiggled her disabled arms trying to free herself from the Power Loader's grip.

"Putting You on an express elevator to Hell." Ripley answered. Seryu looked around, and saw what the Power Loader was stomping towards. Near the edge of the Hangar, there was a small hatch that was labelled

 **CAUTION.**

 **WASTE DISPOSAL.**

 **KEEP CLEAR.**

"No, Wait!" Seryu screamed, as the Power Loader came further towards the disposal hatch "Wait! Wait! I said, WAIT!"

The Power Loader's claw lowered, and brought Seryu in front of Ripley in the safety cage.

"Please…" Seryu begged "I don't want to die in a place like this!"

Ripley looked at her for a brief second, then she pressed a switch on the Power Loader's controls. And watched, as the small hatch promptly slid open.

"Going down…" Ripley retracted the Loader's claw, and dumped Seryu square center into the opened hatch. The hatch then quickly shut closed, and a suction noise sounded out as the disposal chute jettisoned its contents. Seryu was thrown out into deep space.

 **Above the Empire's Atmosphere, Outer Space**

Seryu's mouth shot open, as gallons of blood erupted from it and every other orifice of her eviscerated torso. She tried to shriek in agony, as her eyes were forcibly popped out of their ocular cavities, and when every one of her remaining organs, including her lungs, had imploded. She drifted through the vacuum of the Void, suffering in silence. Save for a faint sound of ticking from the explosive device installed in the back of her head, as the bomb counted down to its final seconds.

As the explosive began to detonate from behind her asphyxiating brain, Seryu's last thoughts lingered within her dying mind.

In space no one can hear you scream.

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Outer Space**

 _BOOOMMM!_ The Sulaco shook and rocked violently as the ship withstood against the growing radius of the blast. "Hang on!" Ripley screamed, as Everybody aboard held onto each other for balance and safety. A loud alarm blared through the multitude of PA speakers throughout the ship, accompanied by an female electronic voice

" _ **Attention. Emergency. Proximity detonation detected beneath the ship's prow. All personnel must report to immediate battle stations, and deploy countermeasures. Will the Executive Officer please report to the Bridge, for damage assessment."**_

Bishop came running down the Dropship's loading ramp, and made a bee line towards the nearest elevator that can take him to the Bridge. Hicks followed after, and went over to check on Ripley, Newt, and Mine.

"Are all of you alright?" The Marine asked with concerned. Newt gave him a thumbs up while she remain clinging onto Mine. The pink haired gunner simply nodded, currently at a loss for words by their close run in with death.

When she finally spoke, only one word was uttered as Mine pointed out a finger "Ripley…" Hicks turned around towards the downed Power Loader, with growing urgency "Ripley!?" The Loader was on its side, with its back and power unit facing the worried trio. "Ripley!" Hicks called out again. The Corporal then ran over to the others side of the machine, in fear of the Lieutenant's condition.

"Ellen!" Hicks called out more urgently, as he reached the front of the fallen Power Loader's operating frame. Much to his relief, he found Ripley laying on her side as she struggled to undo the tangled harness that had her pinned behind the Loader's mangled safety cage.

Hicks unsheathed his knife, and approached the trapped Lieutenant "Hang on. I'll cut you out."

In a moment, the Marine managed to slice away at the last strap, and Ripley dropped free from the operating frame. With Hicks lending her a hand, the Lieutenant awkwardly climbed out of the confines of the Power Loader's compromised safety cage. "Thanks, Hicks." Ripley said in gratitude, as they both stood up arm in arm.

Newt came running toward them, then threw herself into Ripley's arms. Mine followed afterwards, and she stared at Ripley in complete awe. Afterward, the Genius Sniper gazed at the fallen Power Loader, then at the pile of red dust that was once a Berserk Koro, and finally at the lower remains of Seryu's body. There wasn't much left of the pretentious Ally of Justice, everything above the waist had been completely ripped off. The legs were all bent and partially flattened, and nothing above the waist remained except for a pool of blood and entrails. "Amazing…" she whispered, then she began to blink back tears. Finally, after so long, her friend Sheele had been avenged.

"Thank you, Ripley…" Mine murmured. Ripley looked up from embracing Newt, and responded "Did you say something, Mine?" The pink haired gunner shook her head, and answered "It was nothing." she then looked once more at the Power Loader. The mechanized exo-suit wound up severely battered, after combating Koro's Trump Card 1 on 1. But even then, thanks to Ripley's resourcefulness, the Machine and its driver carried the day, and still managed to deal the coup de grace on the devious Seryu before her treacherous suicide bomb detonated and nearly took out the ship and everyone onboard. Mine's gaze strayed over towards the closed Loading Lock, then she recalled Esdeath, the Empire's strongest, and her Soldiers getting sucked out the hatch's outer doors, thus sealing the General's fate.

In mere minutes, two of Night Raid's deadliest Enemies had met their ends at the hands of some unemployed Space Trucker and her child companion. And Ripley didn't even have an Imperial Arm of her own, yet she stood against two of the Jaegers, and prevailed.

"Not bad, for a Civilian." Mine declared admirably. Ripley just grinned and replied "I wouldn't have done it without you, Mine. You really had my back."

"From now on, I always will…" Mine whispered quietly. She then continued to give congratulations "You saved Us. All of Us. Both, You and Newt." She walked over to Newt, and embraced her.

"Save the applause, until after We help the rest of Night Raid." replied Ripley.

("This is Bishop. Do you all read me down there?)" Bishop's voice sounded in the Hangar, from the PA system network throughout the ship. Hicks pressed the mic of his headset close to his mouth, and responded "This is Hicks. We read you, Bishop."

A minute had passed, until the Synthetic Android continued speaking ("If you can make it up here, to the Bridge. There's something I need to show you." Hicks made a nod, and beckoned for the others to follow him as be made his way towards the elevator "Roger. We're on our way."

The doors to the bridge part, as Hicks, Ripley, Newt, and Mine walked through, and entered the Main Operations Center of the Sulaco. Mine stared around in wonder, as she eyed the various computer systems that are tasked with maintaining the ship. "Wait, till Night Raid gets a load of all this…" Mine thought, as an excited smile formed on her lips. The smile faded quickly though, as Bishop stood before them, and brought up an image displayed on one of the large computer screens. The image showed various numbers, letters, and technical readouts. All of the displayed information were colored an ominous red.

"What are we looking at, Bishop?" inquired an anxious Ripley. Beside her, Hicks skimmed over the information on screen, and shook his head with a sigh "It looks like, we've lost more than hull paint from Seryu's bomb explosion." He then turned towards Bishop "Tell them…"

Bishop took a moment, and began to explain "That explosion did more damage to the ship than anticipated." He points at the data on screen, and continued "While the force of the blast was severe, rest assured, the Sulaco hasn't suffered any significant damage thus far. Hull integrity remains unbreached. Power supply, operating systems, and life support were unaffected. And orbital trajectory remains on its current nominal course."

Impatient for the bad news, Ripley muttered a demand "So what's the kicker? What kind of problems are we facing?" Bishop referred back to the data image, and clarified "Certain weapon systems are not responding. Namely, the ventral mounted Rail Gun, and Laser Batteries. They must have been damaged and knocked offline by the explosion from Seryu." That got Ripley holding her chin, and thinking seriously. Hicks was doing the same, as he studied the damage assessment.

Mine was confused "So, what does it all mean?" Hicks turned to her and spoke dryly "It means, we've lost our capabilities for orbital bombardment." Ripley looked up from her brooding, and asked "Is there anything left, that we can still use?"

All eyes turned on Bishop, and he promptly explained. "There are still the missile launch tubes. They're located towards ship's front dorsal portion, and still remain operational." Ripley was skeptical "Why do I feel, there's a But coming on?" Hicks was the one to answer her "Our arsenal mostly consist of anti-ship missiles. We don't necessarily carry anything that can make a orbital strike on a planetary target." Ripley persisted "What about the Nukes?"

Hicks shook his head, and deferred to Bishop. The Synthetic Android typed instructions on a nearby keyboard, and brought up an image on another screen. It displayed a tactical readout with some restricted signs glossed over the information. "There's a small complication in that regard." Bishop explained "Our Nuclear Arsenal remains under lockdown by a PAL system, as per military regulations. And only Lieutenant Gorman had the necessary clearance to disengage the PAL, and authorize a launch."

Disappointment began to overwhelm Ripley, until Hicks spoke up "But there is a way to bypass that issue." The Corporal turned back to Bishop, and prompted him to continue. The Science Officer spoke some more "I can interface with the Ship's Mainframe, update it with correlations from our recent events that have transpired while away from the Ship, and get it to transfer authorization over to our next in command, Corporal Hicks."

Ripley began to look hopeful "How long is that going to take?" Bishop looks at her, and shrugs "It varies. The amount of time the Mainframe can spend deliberating, could take hours or even days." Ripley's shoulders slumped. Beside her, Mine fidgeted "I still don't get it. What are you all talking about?" Hicks got her attention and clarified "It means, apart from the time it takes to repair the bottom Rail Gun and Lasers, and unlock the strongest weapons in Sulaco's arsenal, this ship won't be able to besiege the Empire, or wipe out the Aliens, any time soon."

Mine listened carefully to Hicks' revelation. She then stared down at her feet, and tried not to be feel aghast. "So, that's it?" she said admonishingly "Is there nothing you can do to help my Comrades?" Hicks snorted indignantly "I didn't say that…" he walked over to a different computer terminal, and typed on the keyboard. When he finished, he turned around and got everyone's attention "I've initiated the Dropship's automatic refueling cycle. Until it's finished refueling, we'll have till then to load it up with as much firepower as the ship can carry." He calmly grasped Mine by the shoulder, and began to lead her down to the Ship's Armory. "If Imperials got you down, there's only one thing you can to. Send in the Marines."

Chapter 9 : End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, and any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, another ferocious battle ensues, as an Otherworldly Force demonstrates overwhelming powers against an Unprepared Foe.


	11. Chapter 10

To All Readers: A song from one of my favorite shows inspired me when I wrote this chapter, so I'm going to attempt to incorporate it into the battle you're about to see. Hope you all like it. You will learn what is happening to the Xenomorph prisoner in the next chapter, I promise.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 10: Reckoning

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Run was looking up at the sky with apprehension. Both in order to search for any sign of the Dropship returning, and to see the Sun approach its zenith to indicate high noon. Time was getting short, very soon the General's Aide would have no choice but to follow Esdeath's instruction, and order both the Jaegers and the army of Imperial Soldiers to attack Night Raid.

"Run." Wave addressed his Comrade "It's been a long while. What should We do?" Run glanced sidelong, and observed his fellow Imperials. Kurome kept on pacing, like she was back when the truce was established. Wave himself shifted his stance from one black armored foot to the other in a fidget. All around the Jaegers, the Imperial Soldiers grew antsy and restless one soldier at a time. If Esdeath doesn't return soon, something regretful might happen.

"We continue waiting." Run replied "The Commander's instruction were clear. We hold Our ground until she returns, or when the time runs out." He shifts his gaze over at Night Raid, and sees that the band of assassins were also becoming anxious. Their leader, Najenda stood at their center with a young man with green hair flanking one side, and a redheaded young woman on the other. The other members of Night Raid stood at a quadrant formation with each individual taking a separate corner. The one wearing Incursio's armor stood at a corner closest to the Jaegers, while the blonde woman took the adjacent corner. Akame herself had the furthest quadrant away from the Jaegers, with a tall man with dark hair and horns mirroring her position.

"Interesting deployment." Run remarked "Najenda has two of her hardiest Subordinates standing guard against us, while she has Akame and that man with horns act as rearguard. Najenda herself, and her two remaining Subordinates must be working as support behind the frontline." He then surveyed the numerous ranks of Imperial Soldiers surrounding the Hadley colony "It's a pretty solid strategy. But I'm not sure if it'll make a difference."

From within Grand Chariot's helmet, Wave made a similar observation "We'll find out soon enough. It's getting close to noon." Run faces him with a grin "You're that eager to fight?" The black armored sailor frowned behind his faceplate, and threw a quick glance at Incursio's user. During their first encounter, Grand Chariot easily overpowered the other Imperial Arm it was based off of. But back then, the man inside Incursio's armor seemed unwilling to fight, and made all efforts into getting away. Now there he is, cornered and determined to fight, and also wielding a rifle belonging to the Colonial Marines.

Wave placed an armored hand over Grand Chariot's chestplate. The Imperial Arm can withstand almost all forms of attack, save for weapons that can rapid fire high-explosive rounds. Like the one set up in front of the barricade near Operations control room, which managed to blow off pieces of the armor and expose his body. If he's not careful this time, Wave's life will be in real mortal danger. Same, as when he first encountered the Aliens. With enough time and numbers, the Xenomorphs can eventually get past Grand Chariot's defenses, and leave Wave with grievous wounds. It happened before, it can happen again.

"Not really." Wave admitted "I feel that We're wasting time and energy, fighting with each other, when there's an even greater threat to the Empire running loose out there…" Run makes an understanding nod "You're right. But We have no reliable means of seeking out the Aliens. The ones that do, have already allied themselves with Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army. If the Jaegers and the Empire are to gain any favor from these Colonial Marines, We're going to have to be diplomatic about it." He takes one more look at Night Raid "All We can do right now, is wait and hope for the best…"

"Look!" Kurome yelled out, as she pointed upwards towards the sky. Appearing just below the clouds, a metal object, can be seen descending towards them.

"It's their Dropship, making its return." Run announced.

"Terrific." Wave breathed a sigh of relief inside Grand Chariot's helmet "Looks like things worked out well between the Commander and that Lieutenant Ripley."

Suddenly, the Dropship began to unfurl its weapon pods, and started to gain speed.

Within the Dropship's cockpit, Hicks pressed a switch, then spoke into his headset "Deploying weapon pods." He taps the Ship's pilot, on the shoulder "Accelerate to attack speed, Bishop." The Synthetic Android nods, and complies as he throttled the UD-4L Cheyenne's engines.

Hicks looked back down to his co-pilot control, and pressed another series of buttons and switches "Switching on external PA speakers. Let's give these Imperial Assholes, a catchy tune to dance to…" He thumbed the speakers controls, and glared at the track options "Where the Hell is Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries!? Who switched out the music track to Jeff William's Red Like Roses Part II?" Bishop turned his head and offered an explanation "I suspect, it was Private First Class Hudson who was most likely trying prank Corporal Ferro, by tampering with her inflight music playlist."

Hicks frowned as he reigned in his slight inward amusement "Dammit, Hudson. Ferro would've smacked you upside the head, if she'd ever found out…" With a sigh and a shrug, the Marine pressed the playback button on his control HUD, after selecting his only choice of music.

 **(Over the ship's external speakers, a dramatic instrumental melody started blaring. Its tune becoming more intense, as the soundtrack continued playing.)**

"Take out their Rifle Battalion!" Mine instructed "Without their ranged offenses, they can only come at us for close quarters combat." Within the Dropship's cockpit, Hicks thumbed the controls to the weapons inventory, and selected a specific type of munition. "Selecting Hellhounds... locking target designations…" a targeting scope appeared on the co-pilot's HUD "Targets acquired. Firing!"

From out of their launch tubes, seven guided missiles shot out and dispersed over seven different target areas **(Just as the music's tone elevated into a crescendo by a revving guitar.)**

"Incoming!" Run shouted out, as he ducked and hunkered beneath the cover of Mastema's wings. Next to him, Wave seized Kurome and tucked her underneath the safety of the sailor's black armored body.

 _KABOOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!_ \- multiple explosions rattled the entire Valley, as the small barrage of ordinances homed in on their mark and detonated.

"Direct hit!" Hicks called out from within his co-pilot seat. Behind him, Mine strapped her self down into a nearby seat, as the Dropship began to tilt into braking a hard right. "I'm bringing us around for another bombing run." Bishop announced while he maneuvered the Ship.

"Let's keep them off-balance!" Hicks turned back over to the weapons control "Switching to ZEUS…arming smokes…Firing!"

A cluster of rockets rained down from above, and detonated prematurely over the edges of the Valley, and large billowing clouds of black smoke descended over the legions of Imperial Soldiers. Their ranks suddenly erupted into chaos, as they reeled from the sudden attack and the blindness afterward.

Run flapped Mastema's wings, and tried clearing the smoke away from him and his comrades. Beside him, Wave and Kurome stood up to see the ruckus unfolding before them.

"What the Hell is going on!?" Wave called out, as he wafted a haze of smoke away with an armored hand. Run folded up his wings and turned to him. "It seems, We've been double-crossed." the General's Aide calmly explained.

Kurome looked on ahead, to try peering past the surrounding smoke to where Night Raid stood "What about Big Sis?" Above them, her and the other two Jaegers can hear jet turbines zip by overhead. All eyes turned upwards to see the Dropship heading towards Night Raid's position.

"Najenda!" Hicks' voice blared out from the Ship's speakers, amidst the song that was playing "We can't pick you up in this smoke! Fall back to the Colony!"

"They're trying to get away!" Wave exclaimed. Kurome then dashed out beside him, and made straight for Akame "I will not let you leave, Sis!" Wave began to dash after her "Kurome! Wait!"

"Hold on, you two!" Run called out after them. He then spread Mastema's wings and took flight, hoping to head-off his Comrades.

Najenda was the first to exit the smoke and see the Colony buildings. From where Night Raid stood, a portion of the Colony was within reach, indicated by an entrance marked "SOUTH LOCK". Next to it was a causeway between two large buildings.

"Night Raid! Head towards the space between the structures!" commanded Najenda, as she sprinted for the designated rallying point. Chelsea and Lubbock ran close behind with Susanoo bringing up the rear. Further back, came Akame, Tatsumi, and Leone.

When Najenda reached the confines between Operations and the Hangar, she turned to those closest to her, and shouted orders "Lubbock. As soon as the others catch up, use Cross Tails and make a barrier. Form a cordon with the Colony buildings, to keep the Imperials at bay." She then faced Chelsea and Susanoo "We're making a stand here, until the Dropship can come and extract us." The younger woman and the humanoid Imperial Arm both nodded and readied their weapons.

Akame came dashing straight ahead, with just a few yards to go. Suddenly, a flash of red shimmered in her peripheral view, and Akame instinctively drew Murasame and raised it to block a fast strike from Kurome's Muramasa.

"Sister!" Kurome yelled, as she pressed her augmented strength into the force of her blow, to knock Akame off her feet, and sent them both tumbling off to the side.

"Akame!" Najenda called out after the younger wouman. Tatsumi caught up to them, and readied his Pulse-Rifle. His preparation was interrupted, after receiving a kick to his back by Wave in Grand Chariot's black armor.

As Najenda looked on at her two Subordinates who're faced with the two Jaegers, Leone appeared in front of her and barked "Boss! Get to cover! We'll handle the rest!" Night Raid's leader nodded stiffly, and began issuing orders. "Su!" she turned to her Imperial Arm "Watch their backs! The rest of Us will cover for you!" Susanoo gave her a nod, and leapt forward to position himself before the Imperial Army.

"Raise the barrier." Najenda instructed Lubbock "The three of Us will provide as much covering fire, as we can." Lubbock and Chelsea raised their firearms, and waited for their targets to present themselves.

A black armored clad Wave stood over the downed individual wearing Incursio's silver armor "This time, You and your accomplices are not gonna escape!" he growled.

"Dammit!" hissed Tatsumi, as he rolled forward, and spun around while shouldering his Pulse-Rifle. Wave anxiously brought up his arms to block, just as Tatsumi sprayed a small burst of 10 mm explosive tipped caseless towards his opponent.

The black armored Jaeger then dashed sidelong in an attempt to evade, and disappeared into a nearby smoke cloud. Before Tatsumi could pursue him, he was suddenly set upon by Imperial Soldiers that began trickling out of the smoke and towards attacking him. The silver armored fighter had no choice but to engage the immediate threat.

As the Dropship leveled off near one of the Colony buildings, Hicks pressed a switch, and lowered the Ship's boarding gantry. He then went down a few steps, and began dropping crates and boxes Mine was passing to him "Alright, Mine! Just like we discussed, we're going to set up shop, up on top of the roof of Operations, then we're gonna lay down some cover fire to try and down as many Imperials that come after Night Raid." Mine took a breathe to gather herself, and nodded.

With a muffled grunt, the Corporal jumped off the ladder, and landed squarely on the rooftop of the Operations control center. Hicks shut out the bitter sense of irony going through his head, as he realized he was making another stand against overwhelming odds in this decrepit structure. Steeling his resolve, he turned and held out his hand to help an awkwardly balanced Mine step down toward him.

With both combatants successfully down and cleared from beneath the Dropship, Bishop shifted the thrusters, and returned the Ship back into the air.

"Weapons Free, Mine!" yelled Hicks "Unload on those Fuckers, while I watch your back!" Without a second's delay, Mine steadied the Smart Gun she was using, and pulled the trigger. "Adios!" _BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_ She screamed out over the thunderous machinegun-fire she had raining over at the Imperial Army. To the side, Hicks worked on opening various crates and supply boxes.

Meanwhile, over at the center of the melee, Night Raid struggled on to repel the surrounding army, and counter the Jaegers at the same time. Leone, Susanoo, and Tatsumi would hold off the brunt of the Imperial Soldiers' attack, while Najenda, Lubbock, and Chelsea would pick off the enemy's numbers from the safety of Cross Tails' barrier. Up above, Mine and Hicks would saturate the entire area with heavy bombardment, in an attempt to keep the Imperials scattered and disorganized.

The storm of Smart Gun rounds swarmed the Enemy, and downed numerous Imperial Soldiers. Surprised, but not daunted by the new threat, the Imperial Soldiers began to break off from the main group, and rush towards Mine and Hicks' position.

In an effort to curtail Night Raid's advantage, Run soared over to Mine and Hicks' emplacement atop the Operations building. The winged Jaeger made ready to launch feather projectiles at the Genius Sniper and Marine, but canceled the attack, and dropped to avoid the large Dropship from nearly ramming into him.

Run looked aside, and saw the Dropship come around again for another collision attempt, then flew off in the other direction, as Bishop gave chase.

Down on the ground, Akame and Kurome recovered from their topple, and are now in a standoff.

A singing voice sounded out from the external speakers off the Dropship above, as Kurome rushed at her Older Sister.

 _ **(I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute…)**_

Kurome brought Muramasa around for a wide slash.

 _ **(Couldn't bear another day without you in it…)**_

Akame parried the attack with Murasame, and made for a quick stab.

 _ **(All of the joy I had known for all my life…)**_

Kurome sidestepped around the counterattack, and tried to bring Muramasa down overhead.

 _ **(Was stripped away from me the minute that you died.)**_

Before Kurome could bring Muramasa down, Akame closed in, and seized her by the wrists.

 _ **(To have you in my life was all I ever wanted…)**_

With augmented strength, Kurome used her small body to shove Akame away.

 _ **(But now without you, I'm a soul forever haunted…)**_

Surprised by the sudden display of brute force, Akame staggered back.

 _ **(Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted…)**_

Taking advantage of her sister's sudden vulnerability, Kurome lunged to stab at Akame.

 _ **(No way in Hell that I can ever comprehend this.)**_

Akame raised Murasame, and knocked the lunging Muramasa aside, narrowly diverting it's crimson blade from running her through.

While the two sisters dueled each other, most of the smoke in the surrounding area had cleared up, and the Imperial Army rallied together to launch an organized assault. Without adequate numbers, engaging Tatsumi, Susanoo, and Leone directly would only result in needless casualties. And swarming the three combatants would only allow the rest of Night Raid entrenched near Operations to freely decimate their ranks with firepower. Only by taking out the cordon at the Operations building, will the Imperial Army gain the upper hand in this battle. They then began to encroach on the Colony structures. Soldiers bearing shields shuffled to the front, and formed a mobile wall to cover the advance.

"Phalanx, approaching!" Najenda called out. From atop the building beside her, Mine concentrated the Smart Gun's barrage at the shielded targets, but none of them dropped as the heavy shields managed to absorb the ceaseless fire "The Smart Gun has no effect! We need something that can punch through!" _Click!_ "I'm out!" Mine began fumbling at the Smart Gun's articulation mount.

Hicks answered down in response "Light'em up! Stall them with the Flamethrower, while I prepare a solution!" Najenda primed the Incinerator's pre-igniter, and steadied her aim.

Fire streamed out of the Flamethrower's nozzle, and sprayed along the landscape. The flames served as an obstacle to force the enemy to divide their numbers to go around, and expose their ranks to ranged assault. But the Imperial Soldiers weren't foolish. Better for them to wait out for the flames to die down momentarily, and allow their numbers to swell. With the shields of their phalanx in play, they no longer need worry about being whittled down by the gun emplacements at the Colony structures, nor bombarded by the Dropship which is still chasing Run across the sky.

The UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship was large and mach-speed fast, but Run using Mastema is agile and acrobatic, and he can easily see to anticipate the Dropship's charge, before dodging gracefully. Run would then send feather projectiles at the Ship, only for Bishop to fire up the afterburners and incinerate then a they come at him from behind.

From the Dropship's external speakers, another string of lyrics sang out, right when Akame goes on the offensive against Kurome.

 _ **(I know you're broken down by anger and by sadness…)**_

Akame lunged at Kurome, while swinging Murasame.

 _ **(You feel I left you in a world that's full of madness…)**_

Kurome receives the blow with Muramasa, and pushed the attack back.

 _ **(Wish I could talk to you, if only for a minute…)**_

Akame was nearly thrown off balance, but cartwheels backwards to recover.

 _ **(Make you understand the reasons why I did it.)**_

Kurome rushes in to hastily close the gap between her and her Older Sister.

 _ **(I wanna tell you that you're all that ever mattered…)**_

Akame dashed aside to avoid being charged at.

 _ **(Want you to know that, for eternity, I'm shattered…)**_

Kurome easily caught up, and sprinted alongside Akame.

 _ **(I tried so hard just to protect you, but I failed to…)**_

Seeing that she could not outrun her Younger Sister, Akame turned and lunged, once more.

 _ **(And in a prison of abandonment, I jailed you.)**_

Kurome dove beneath Murasame's blade, and rolled behind Akame to slash at her legs. Akame reacted fast, and stepped down on the flat of Muramasa's crimson blade. Thinking she had her Younger Sister cornered, the Older Sister raised her Imperial Arm, and pointed Murasame's blade down toward Kurome's throat.

"Give up." Akame insisted "I've got your weapon pinned, and I only need to nip you with mine to end you." Kurome only smirked "You're wrong, Big Sis. It is I, who'll end you!" Putting all of her augmented strength into lifting Muramasa, Kurome quickly brought up her Imperial Arm, and sent Akame flipping backwards in surprise. "How could she have gotten this strong?" thought the red eyed assassin "What has the Empire done to her, this time?"

Over at the Colony proper, The Imperial Army began to move forward after the flames left by Najenda's Flamethrower dwindled into embers, and were stomped out underneath. Leone, Tatsumi, and Susanoo tried harrying the Imperial Soldiers from the side, but the Imperial Cavalry kept the three occupied, by constantly charging in, and falling back when met with intense resistance.

Najenda laid down another blazing wall to ward away the Imperial Army. "Can't We just have Bishop set out another volley of munitions from the Dropship?" Hicks was carefully unlatching a large, heavy crate when he replied "Can't be done. Bishop doesn't have extensive programming regarding combat, and without anyone manning the weapons control, the bombing won't be precise. It could level this entire Valley, with Us in it."

Suddenly, an explosive force erupted in front of Cross Tails' barrier, and the three assassin's behind it were sent stumbling back. Night Raid's leader recovered first, then squinted to see into the cloud of dirt that kicked up after the unknown impact. And saw the black armored figure of a Grand Chariot clad Wave standing before them.

"Come at me, Night Raid assassins!" barked Wave.

"Shit, it's one of the Jaegers!" Najenda, Lubbock, and Chelsea all trained their weapons on the new threat. Their leader then pointed the nozzle of her Flamethrower "You're not our intended target. If you continue, we won't show any mercy." The black armored sailor did not back down "I can't lose anymore of my Comrades. I won't let you hurt anyone else!" With a slight sense of remorse, Najenda pulled the Flamethrower's trigger, and let of a stream of fire.

The flames engulfed the target, but Wave merely stepped out of the conflagration seemingly unfazed. "What the Hell!?" Najenda gasps "Was he always this strong?"

"This armor won't let anything penetrate to the skin." Wave muttered "It doesn't matter how many of you there are, or what weapons you use! I'll destroy you all!" He made ready to charge, and Night Raid's leader called to her two nearby Subordinates "Get clear!"

Chelsea was way ahead of her Commander's order, and had already transformed using Gaea Foundation, to become a small kitten before slipping through a duct leading into a nearby building. Lubbock used Cross Tails, and zip-lined up the side of Operations towards the top. Najenda did likewise, using the grappling hand of her prosthetic arm.

Both Night Raid's leader and her green haired follower clambered up the roof of Operations, and made towards a confused Hicks. "What's going on?" he asked, but before the two of them can answer, the entire rooftop rattled upon the landing arrival of their pursuer. "I've already told you." Wave remarked, after leaping atop the Operations building "I am not letting you get away."

Hicks brought up his Pulse-Rifle, and steadied it "It's not Us, who should be running…" Wave tensed as he stared down the barrel of Hicks' gun, from behind Grand Chariot's faceplate. The Corporal then continued speaking "We'll deal with you, the same way We dealt with Esdeath and Seryu."

Wave stiffened in shock "Wha-What have you done to them!?" Hicks made a cold stare "They fucked with the wrong People. And, Ripley made them pay for it…" Wave couldn't believe what the Marine was saying "Commander Esdeath…Seryu and Koro…you killed them…" he couldn't fathom how a single woman had gotten the better of two ruthless fighters and the Empire's strongest General.

"You're Lying!" shouted the black armored Jaeger. Hicks only shook his head "You'd wish I was. But, reality isn't so kind." He kept his Pulse-Rifle trained at him "It's over, Wave. Keep this up, and it won't end well for any of your teammates…"

"Like Hell, it is!" Wave roared within Grand Chariot's helmet, as he dashed towards Hicks who in turn opened fire _Rata-ta-ta-ta!_ Wave blocked with his armored forearms, to withstand the burst of Pulse-Rifle fire, and continued charging at Hicks, as the Corporal kept up his small barrage. The Jaeger in black armor was nearly upon the Corporal, when he drew back an arm for an attack.

 _Whip!_ Before Wave can strike, something whipped all around him and wrapped up Grand Chariot's armor. He turned to see that Lubbock had tied Cross Tails' string around him, in an effort of restrain him. Wave easily flexed his arms, and broke out of the entanglement swiftly- _Bzzzt! Ch-Chk! Bzzzt! Ch-Chk Bzzzzzt!_ And suddenly seized up, as several thousand volts of electricity jolted into Grand Chariot's black armor-plating.

"Hngh!" Grand Chariot's armor managed to dissipate most of the paralyzing effects of the arcing electricity, allowing Wave to turned back towards Hicks, and see the Corporal holding a different firearm with a pump-like mechanism below its smoking barrel.

"Impressive armor, you got there." commented Hicks "I haven't seen anything that couldn't drop after several hits from these stun rounds." He began loading more blue colored shells into a slim port beneath the weapon.

Wave mustered all if his strength, and made to dodge Hicks' next shot. Then, he found himself staring down the barrel of another weapon.

"Slow and steady, wins the race!" Mine crowed triumphantly, as she steadied Pumpkin. Wave looked at her in surprise, after seeing what the Genius Sniper had done to her Imperial Arm. The Smart Gun harness Mine was wearing had been jerry-rigged to accommodate Pumpkin in place of the original weapon itself, and was now aiming the Imperial Arm along the articulated mount of the stabilization arm.

Wave had only an instant to lock his forearms in front of him for another block, before Mine fired. At this range and with the pink haired assassin's skill as a sharpshooter combined with aid of the Smart Gun's tracking technology for homing accuracy, dodging the shoot was out of the question. Wave received the attack at point blank, and the stream of spirit energy collided with his defenses.

The blast was potent, but since Wave hadn't come at Mine with an intent to harm her, Pumpkin's attack power didn't increase as drastically. And, the shot had only enough strength of force to knock Wave off his feet, and send him flying. The black armored Jaeger was blown clean off the rooftop of Operations, and went sailing into the distance.

"He probably won't die, because of that armor." Mine surmised "We've sent him way off, so he wouldn't bother Us again." Najenda nods, and hurried over towards the edge of the rooftop "Let's continue our support of the others! It's starting to go bad, down there!" Back down on the Valley floor, the smoke had completely evaporated, and the Imperial Army was no longer in disarray. Soldiers lined up and formed ranks behind the shielded phalanx at the fore.

"There getting closer!" yelled Lubbock "And we're out of position. Boss, if We don't do something fast, We'll be overrun!" Najenda gazed at the oncoming Imperial Army for a moment "We need something that can get through their defense, and push them back."

"I'm on it!" Hicks called out. In his arms was a large, bulky weapon that was rectangular in shape and had four tubes within its boxy frame.

The Corporal shoulder mounted the SADAR Rocket Launcher, and crept towards the edge of the roof facing the onslaught. "Clear behind, Everybody!" he commanded "Don't stand near me, when I fire this thing!"

Najenda and Lubbock promptly obeyed Hicks' instruction. Mine stood by, and looked at the weapon with excitement. "What is that?" she inquired. Hicks pressed a switch near the trigger grips, and a scope with a glowing eye-screen folded out from a compartment "Wishful Thinking." he answered with a sly tone.

Hicks peered through the scope, and waited for a beeping tone to sound out. Once it did, the Marine made a dark grin "Hasta la Vista, Assholes!" then he pulled the trigger _Click!_

 _Shmpf!_ A quartet of High Impact AMAG rockets streaked through the air, towards the Imperial Army's phalanx. The fiery projectiles crashed against the phalanx shields, and burnt their way past the cover of steel, before detonating in a scorching blast _Kaffssshh! Kaffssshh! Kaffssshh! Kaffssshh!._

Nearly the entire front line of Imperial Soldiers were torched and consumed by the resulting explosions. The rest of the Imperial Army fell into chaos once again, after losing their protection.

"It worked!" exclaimed Najenda "We've got to keep them apart. Prevent them from regrouping." Lubbock turned to Hicks "You got any more explosives, We can use?" Before the Marine can answer, a voice called out from behind them "Here!" Chelsea appeared from a nearby air duct, and opened up a compartment of Gaea Foundation "I snagged some of these. Just in case…" she then offered a handful of M40 grenades.

"Well done, Chelsea!" Najenda complimented "You're a lifesaver." Chelsea smiled, as her leader stepped forward and took the grenades off her hands.

Hicks set the Rocket Launcher down, and went over to another large crate "Lubbock. Take my rifle, and use the Grenade Launcher to keep the Enemy scattered, while I ready another rocket salvo." Lubbock nodded, then took up the Pulse-Rifle, and stood in position next to Mine.

"Chelsea." Najenda spoke "You and I will-" she turned and noticed Chelsea was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd you go!?"

 _ **(Red Like Roses! Fills My Head With Dreams! And Finds Me!...)**_

At the closing tune of the Dropship's blaring music, Akame caught another of Kurome's lunges with a blocking parry, then kicked her Little Sister back with all her might.

Kurome stammered backwards for a brief moment, just in time for a pair of arms to reach from behind, and lock her into a restraining embrace "Gotcha!" Tatsumi rasped triumphantly, as he fumbled to pin and hold Kurome's arms with his armored hands. The steel eyed teenager looked back towards him, and uttered an angry snarl. She then tried to stab at Incursio's armor with Muramasa, but the silver armored fighter managed to grabbed Kurome's sword arm with both armored hands, and prevented the attack.

Before Tatsumi could think of what to do next, Kurome grabbed him by the neck "Hiiiyyaa!" and with all her strength granted by Muramasa, she effortlessly flipped Tatsumi over her shoulder and tossed him away.

"Such power!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he right himself up, and landed in a crouch. "Is that one of her Imperials Arm's abilities?" Akame stood fast, and closely observed Kurome's Muramasa "That's not Yatsufusa. She's using a different Imperial Arm." She then recalled her earlier incidents whilst battling the teenage Jaeger "And it's enhancing her abilities beyond her current state."

Before Kurome can come at her Older Sister once more, she notices the figure in Grand Chariot's armor blocking her path. "Get out of the way, Wave!" she yelled "Big Sis is right behind you-" _Bzzzt!_ Her sentence was cut short, when a strong surge of electricity entered her body.

"Target, down…" someone spoke, as a cloud of steam and smoke billowed in front of the teenage Jaeger. In place of were Grand Chariot's armor once stood, a young woman with red hair appeared in its stead, holding a Shotgun. "I figured, you wouldn't attack your fellow teammates." Chelsea explained with a smug and satisfied tone "So, I posed as one of them, to get close enough to use this on you." She indicated the Shotgun she was holding "It's loaded with non-lethal stun rounds. It shouldn't harm you in anyway, unless you struggle too much."

Kurome bared her teeth in a mixture of both a sneer and a growl "I don't care if this kills me or not. I will tear you to shreds!" She strained against the paralyzing jolt of electricity, and shuffled forward towards Chelsea. The redhead had only enough time to work the pump-action of her Shotgun, before Kurome lunged at her with Muramasa raised.

 _Chop!_ _Bzzzt!_

And Kurome was sent flying backwards, as a second bolt of electricity jolted into her body. As she collapsed to the ground, she looked up in time to see Leone standing before her with one arm sliced clean off and another holding another Shotgun by its pistol-grip

"Now, you've done it. You've really pissed me off this time" Leone muttered, as she lurched towards a downed Kurome "First, you're coming with us-" Behind the injured blonde, a dark silhouette came dropping from above.

"Grand Fall!" Wave called out, as he smashed the ground behind the unwary Night Raid assassin _Crash!_ And sent her tumbling away by the force of impact. The black armored Jaeger quickly turned to look at his fallen Comrade. "Kurome!" he called out, while scooping up the unconscious teen. "Are you alright!? Answer me!" Kurome twitched in Wave's arms, as she weakly fought against the paralysis on her body "Bis…Sis…" she murmured quietly as her strength left her.

Wave held his vulnerable Comrade close, disarmed and placed Muramasa in its sheath. "Hang on, Kurome!" he said "I'm getting you out of here-" _Bam! Bam! Ping! Ping!_ Wave hunched, as a couple of light hits pricked his back from beneath Grand Chariot's armor-plating. He looked behind, and saw Akame aiming at him with a smoking Pistol in her hand.

"Put her down." Akame demanded, as she steadied her weapon. Behind Grand Chariot's faceplate, Wave scowled defiantly "I won't let you have her!" With a rigid stance, Wave turned back around, and made ready to leap away. _Wsssh! Ding!_ And felt another light hit against his back, as Akame swung Murasame at him only to be repelled by Grand Chariot once again.

In a high bounding leap, Wave took off into the forest wilderness at high speed, while carefully carrying a weakened Kurome in a bridal hold. Behind them, the quagmire of battle continued to rage on.

Back at the Hadley Colony, Run broke away from the pursuing Dropship, in a long enough moment to survey the events unfolding below him.

The Imperial Soldiers weren't faring well against Night Raid. Any attempt to assault them, had been constantly thwarted by Mine, Hicks, and Lubbock bombarding them with heavy artillery from atop the Colony buildings.

At the other end of the engagement, Run saw no signs of Wave and Kurome. "They must have fallen back, and retreated." surmised the General's Aide "Good call, you two. We're not getting anywhere, with things as they are."

As the Army of Imperial Soldiers rallied once more, to attempt another charge, Run flew down at the head and addressed a soldier with cornrows on his head. "This battle is lost. Tell the men, I order a full retreat." The soldier with cornrows made an angry growl "They have our General! Lady Esdeath will not be abandoned or unavenged!" From up above them, a whining sound of jet turbines closed in towards them.

Every Imperial Soldier looked on, as the Dropship hovered before them, with its weapons pods splayed out and poised to launch its payload. From all sides, the members of Night Raid steadied their weapons and Imperial Arms. Neither of them showed any signs of offering mercy.

"We're outmatched!" Run called out to the Imperial Soldiers "Anyone of you can see, that this is futile!" When the winged Jaeger saw much of the soldiers starting to hesitate, he continued to reason "Nothing good will come from all of Us dying here! Let's withdraw, and live to fight another day."

After taking one last look at their adversaries, the soldier with cornrows turned and began shouting orders "It's over. Sound the retreat signal! We're falling back!" Multiple soldiers instantly turned and headed for the tree line of the forest wilderness. Many would stop and carry a wounded comrade, or load a dead body onto a wagon. No one made any aggressive move towards Night Raid who were looking on in a mixture of relief and apprehension.

Run was the last man to stay, as he watched the army of Imperial Soldiers clear out of the Valley. As the last soldier disappeared into the forest, Run unfolded his wings from their defensive position. Once he was certain he was out of range from any oncoming fire, the winged Jaeger hovered above the ground and elevated into the air.

"Till we meet again…" Run spoke calmly, as he took to the skies and flew in the direction towards the retreating Imperial Soldiers.

The Valley grew quiet, as the thundering marching formations of the Imperial Soldiers grew distant. When pure silence came over the area, Every member of Night Raid lowered their weapons, and relaxed.

"Phewww! That was a close one." Lubbock exclaimed cheerfully. "I beg to differ…" Leone growled beside him while holding up her own severed arm. Behind them, Tatsumi came up running, after deactivating his Imperial Arm "Sis! Your Arm!"

Leone turned to face the green eyed fighter, and smiled reassuringly "It's okay. My Imperial Arm has already stopped the bleeding." She indicates to Lubbock beside her "All that's left is for Lubbock the handyman to attach my arm using his string Imperial Arm, and I'll be fully recovered."

Tatsumi was surprised "Your arm can be fixed?" Leone donned a smug grin "Yeah, but it's a combination that's only possible through me and Lubbock. It can't be fixed normally."

"I don't know…" Najenda chimed in "Maybe Bishop might know a conventional way of doing it." Leone was skeptical "There's nothing conventional about my regeneration abilities, since it's Lionel's trump card."

Najenda held her chin in thought "Perhaps. But, unlike my Imperial Arm, yours doesn't have instant recovery. That makes you vulnerable to a certain extent." Leone was perturbed "I know! I get it already!"

Tatsumi grinned at seeing his fellow Comrades doing well. "Now, we know Big Sis' arm will be fine." He then notices Akame walking up to join them "What a relief. Huh, Akame?" The red eyed assassin had a forlorn expression with her gaze partially scanning the trees in the distant forest.

Tatsumi's grin faded as he understood what had Akame vexed. He then placed both of his arms on her shoulders, to get her attention "Don't worry. There'll be another chance. We'll get Kurome back for sure next time." Akame blinked once, then her frown changed into a radiant smile "Yeah…" Tatsumi slightly blushed at the young woman's warm expression. "Was she always this cute?" he mused, since he only ever seen Kurome's Older Sister in a serious scowl or a calm and composed mood.

The main group of Night Raid assassins were then joined by Mine, as she strolled up with her Smart Gun folded upwards, and Pumpkin's case slung over her shoulder. "If it hadn't been for me and Pumpkin's Trump Card, no one would be standing here at all." she commented smugly "Of course, none of you need to thank me for saving your hides. A simple eternity of adoration would suffice."

Hicks walks up behind the pink haired gunner "Agreed. Why don't we all hive Mine a great big hand?" He then seized Mine's left hand and squeezed it hard.

Mine began to yelp in pain "Oww! Ow-ow-ow!". The Corporal then let go of her hand, and berated her "You were supposed to stay aboard the Sulaco with Ripley and Newt, to recover from your injuries. But, like an idiot, you had to insist on coming along to fight."

Tatsumi noticed Mine's hands were wrapped in bandages. He can only guess how his Comrade came about those wounds. "Geez Mine. You don't have to go to such lengths, just to act all tough and cool." Mine was exasperated "Huh!? Don't you go pitying me, when you can't even deal with that jerk Jaeger, Wave!"

Najenda stepped between her bickering Subordinates "Quiet, you two." She then looked at Hicks "What happened up there with Esdeath? How did you make it back down here, without her and Seryu?

Hicks gazed up at the afternoon sky "They thought, they had Us all figured out. Ripley made sure to remind them, that there are some things in this universe you don't try to hurt or kill, or threaten to do either." Najenda stood there for a brief moment, unsure of whether she heard the Corporal right or not.

"Ripley…defeated them?" breathed Night Raid's leader "She took down both Imperial Arms users…all by herself?" It was still difficult to believe, until Mine corroborated the claim "It's true, Ma'am! Ripley took every opportunity to have both Esdeath and Seryu lulled into a false sense of security, convince them that they were in full control of the situation, and then sent them both plummeting into the Abyss."

"Mine goes on to tell all of her Comrades of Ripley's daring scheme to set a trap for Esdeath and her Subordinates, by having Hicks and Bishop subtly manipulate the operating systems of both the Dropship and the Sulaco. She then described in great detail, of how Ripley used a powerful machine to go toe-to-toe with Koro before completely destroying the monstrous beast singlehandedly. Then, of how Newt used Spectator to distract Seryu long enough for Mine herself to take the bloodthirsty Jaeger unawares and subdue her. And finally, of Seryu's maniacal attempt of self-destruction using a hidden powerful explosive, which left the Sulaco slightly damaged thanks to Ripley's quick-thinking."

Most of Night Raid was speechless, after Mine finished her tale. Then, every member looked up at the sky wearing a delicate expression. Where so many people had died attempting, one woman was all it took, to bring down one of The Empire's strongest fighters, and Night Raid's most dangerous Enemy.

"Wow…" Tatsumi exclaimed "Ripley sure is an amazing person." Beside him, Akame nodded in agreement "She's proven to be greatly resourceful." She then patted Leone on the back "She saved us. All of Us."

"Ahem…" Najenda cleared her throat, to get Everyone's attention. "What Ripley accomplished, was nothing short of a great act of heroism." she declared solemnly "The events that transpired today had surely dealt a crushing blow to the Empire. However, this rebellion is far from over. With the Imperial Army devastated, and the Jaegers scattered, the Empire will become desperate, and willing to try anything to recover their lost advantages.

Every Night Raid member present nodded, and stood resolute. "What's the plan now, Boss?" Lubbock asked. Najenda gazed in the direction of which the Imperials fled. "We'll proceed cautiously, and with patience." she instructed "We'll be laying low, until the Revolutionary Army and our Allies are fully mobilized and prepared to march on the Capitol. In the meantime, Night Raid will remain with the Colonial Marines, and assist them in their search for the Derelict." Najenda then looked over at Hicks again "We owe them that much, at least."

Hicks grins in appreciation, and turns around to see the Dropship hovering close. The Corporal then spoke into his headset mic "Stay on station, Bishop. We can't risk compromising the Dropship again. Come and get Us, once We're ready to leave."

Bishop's voice blared out of the Ship's external speakers _**("Roger. Standing by…")**_

Hicks then turned to Lubbock, and reached out an arm expectantly. The green haired assassin promptly handed the Pulse-Rifle back to the Marine. "You all wait here, and gather up what We can use." Hicks ordered "I'll be right back." Every one in Night Raid gave each other a perplexed look. Najenda called out after the Marine "Where are you going?"

"To the Jaegers' encampment." Hicks answered back "Ripley says, there's something important that I need to retrieve from there." He stopped up short, when Tatsumi and Leone stood in his way. "Not alone, your not." Tatsumi warned "There could still be Imperial Soldiers nearby, or the Jaegers for that matter."

Before Hicks can protest, Najenda signaled to her Subordinates "Akame, go with him. You too, Mine." Both young women nodded, and walked alongside the Corporal. As the three strolled on towards the western forest edge, Tatsumi raised an arm and spoke "If it's alright with you Ma'am, I'd like to arrange burial detail for the Colonists still inside of the Atmosphere Processor." Najenda held her chin in deliberation, as she considered Tatsumi's request.

Before Night Raid's leader could give her answer, Leone stepped in and placed an arm around her young Comrade's silver white armor. "I'm going with him." said the blonde woman, in a tone which suggested that it wasn't up for a decision. Najenda scowled, then she gazed over at the Processing Station. Down in depths of the Plant's structure, a majority of the colonists had lost their lives to the Aliens, simply for being at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Yet, those same circumstances were responsible for setting off a chain of events that led to Night Raid's discovery of Hadley's Hope, the Aliens, and Ripley and her people. Had it not been for what they been through, these last few days, Night Raid's path would have been strewn with further loses and casualties, let alone witness the demise of General Esdeath and her Jaegers. The Colonists' deaths had made all the rebels' fortune possible.

"Alright, fine." Najenda sighed "Leone and Tatsumi will prepare a mass burial for all the poor souls that died here." She then addressed the rest of her team "The rest of Us will search the Colony Proper, and scrape together anything that We can use for the Revolutionary Army's cause. Leave nothing behind that We may need, or for the Empire to use against Us. Su will be our lookout, in case any of Imperials come lurking back to attack Us once more. Let's not give them a chance to ambush us once more."

The remaining members of Night Raid all nodded, and set about in different directions to begin their salvage. Chelsea headed back on over to NORTH LOCK, and carefully stepped through the shattered entrance. Lubbock went into SOUTH LOCK, and milled along the ragged and empty corridors. Najenda approached the gaping doors of WEST LOCK, then held her ground as the Dropship whisked by overhead.

 _ **("Najenda.")**_ Bishop's voice crackled over then Ship's external PA speakers _**("If you or Lubbock can get to the Auxiliary Power Station in the sub-levels beneath Maintenance, you may be able to restore power and vital systems to the rest of the Colony."**_

Najenda gave a thumbs-up gesture above her head, to show her understanding and appreciation, before proceeding inside.

 **Jaegers Camp, Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Hicks stepped out from behind a thick brush of braches and twigs, to enter a clearing in front of him. Many tents occupy every inch of the clearing, and beyond, covering nearly the entire forest area. Behind him came Akame and Mine, both looking over the entire span of the area with suspicion.

"It's quiet." Akame murmured "Camp seems abandoned." Hicks took out his Motion Tracker, and swept it side by side, trying to see if its sensors detect anything. Silent pulses were all he can pick up. "Nothing moving." he whispered "But that could probably mean, they're looking to ambush us."

"Allow me…" Mine said, while shuffling forward with Pumpkin at the ready. She fitted her scanning visor over one eye, before engaging the Smart Gun harness' tracking scope on the other. With a combination of both sensory devices at her disposal, Mine's detection abilities became greatly enhanced.

The pink haired gunner scanned the entirety of the large camp, and groaned in disappointment "I got nothing." She then toggled the controls to her equipment "Maybe if I switched to infrared…" With Thermal Imaging now activated, Mine noticed something right away. Towards the center of the encampment, a medium-sized heat source shown prominently on the sensors.

"I got something!" Mine announced, only for Hicks to nearly slap a hand over her mouth. "Shh! Don't alert it!" he growled, then withdrew his hand "How many are there? Just one?" Mine nodded silently. "Does it look like it's moving?" Hicks asked again. Mine shook her head.

"Maybe it's a wounded person?" Akame reasoned "Someone who got left behind, perhaps?" Hicks shouldered his Pulse-Rifle rifle, and murmured "Only one way to find out." before steadily creeping forward. "I'll take point." He commanded, as he beckoned to the two with him "Watch my back and my flanks."

Akame drew Murasame, and stealthily veered to the side. Mine remained stationary with Pumpkin pointed straight at the unknown target, and never taking her eyes off the thermal heat signature ahead of them. With the trio poised to attack, Hicks led the procession deeper into the multitude of tents.

The Corporal came upon a sizeable tent near the center of the encampment, and looked over at Mine. With a pointing finger, the Genius Sniper indicated their unknown heat signature resided inside.

Hicks then signaled at Akame, pointed to the canvas material on the side of the tent, and made a chopping motion with his hand. The red eyed assassin held Murasame poised and ready. Once she saw Hicks in place and aiming his Pulse-Rifle, Akame dashed forward, and swung her Imperial Arm to make a wide horizontal cut across the broad side of the tent _Slash!_

A large piece of the tent's canvas material dropped, and created a large opening on the side. Hicks smoothly tucked and rolled his way into the tent's interior, then quickly came up to one knee, and brought his weapon to level. With his gun aimed, he swept the sights all around the inside of the large tent. The Marine systematically registered what he was seeing in front of him. A small table with several chairs sat along the edge. A sleeping cot occupied a spot nearby. And something else lay crumpled over in the center, bound and chained to tent's main support strut.

Hicks rose to a crouch, before slowly approaching the object. The gloom of the tent made it difficult to identify what Hicks was had found, so he pressed a switch on his Shoulder Lamp, and everything became brightly illuminated. As his eyes readjusted to the sudden brightness, the Corporal looked back down at the laying figure, and hurriedly pointed the barrel of his Pulse-Rifle away.

Eyes widened with surprise, Hicks waved Akame and Mine over. Both assassins came running with their weapons ready to strike, until Hicks ordered them to stand down. "Put those away!" he urged, and the two members of Night Raid disarmed themselves.

Akame came up behind Hicks, and crouched down next to him. "What did you find?" she asked, while Hicks carefully tugged at the chains secured around the body. Seeing that the bonds were tightly wrapped and locked, Hicks reached inside his body armor, and brought out a portable Welding Torch.

"Help me roll him over…" Hicks and Akame steadied the person lying in front of them, and turned him over. While Hicks lit the Welding Torch and began burning away at the chains, Akame observed the figure. It was a middle-aged man with a close-cropped hair, who wore combat fatigues similar in color to Hicks' attire. The man had his eyes closed, and didn't appear to be responsive.

"Hey, you two." Mine spoke up "What going on? Who is that guy?" Hicks shut off the welder, and turned the man onto laying in his back "This is Hudson. Private First Class William Hudson, my teammate, and fellow Marine." Mine stared at the unconscious ComTech in awe. "So this is the person Seryu talked about." she wondered "This must be what Ripley sent us over here, to find."

"What's wrong with him?" Akame inquired, nudging Hudson "Why won't he wake up?" Hicks searched the ComTech all over, for any signs of injuries, but found nothing obvious. He then felt a large lump on the side of Hudson's head. "I don't know." muttered the Corporal "Maybe a concussion. But, he's alive…"

 **Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

The large spacious suite was dimply lit by a window displaying the waning sun. Only the center remained properly illuminated, where Syura lounged in a comfortable chair. He looks up at the shadows around him, and grinned as hooded figures stepped into view.

"We're all here, I presume?" Syura asked. The hooded figures assembled before him. One stuck out his tongue and flicked it about in a lewd manner. Another simply crossed his arms, stood with serene calm. The largest of them exhaled an euphoric sigh. And the only two feminine individuals simply smiled.

"It is time…" Syura continued "The entire Empire is Our toy…" his grinned widens to become a perverse sneer "And I, Lord Syura will have fun playing with you!"

Elsewhere, several levels below ground, a soul-rending cry can be heard erupting from the bowels of the Imperial Palace

 _Skreee!_

 **Remote Coastal Village, Outside of the Empire**

Three fishermen sat in their boat after finally hauling in a large net full of fish. Despite their exhaustion, all three were grinning in satisfaction. Thanks to their recent catch, their village and their families will eat well in the days ahead.

One of the men cast his tired gaze at the horizon on the far end of the lagoon, where the fishing boat is currently anchored. Then at the cove where the village stands. With an inward sigh, he thanked the skies and the stars above, for having lived within a paradise where food was abundant and the people where warm and friendly.

"Look!" one other fisherman exclaimed, pointing his finger up at the sky. The first fisherman and the one who hasn't spoken, both looked up in the direction where the second was pointing.

High above, and descending rapidly, came a large ball of fire. As the object came lower towards the boat, it stopped burning and revealed itself to be a large chunk of ice. The ice then began to chip away piece by piece, as it fell ever closer towards the lagoon water. Finally, just before the ice chunk hit the surface, the fishermen caught a glimpse of an object within the ice

 _SPLASH!_ The waters sprayed up violently like a geyser, after receiving the object which fell from the sky.

The three fishermen wasted no time, as they paddled in unison to bring the boat over to where the falling object had splashed down.

"Either of you see anything?" the third fisherman finally spoke, as he and his associates scanned the water's surface.

"There!" called out the first fisherman pointing out a short distance away from the boat. The three fishermen brought their fishing vessel over towards the designated spot. Then they peered their heads over the sides. At first, nothing showed within the ripples of the calming waves. But then, something came up to the surface and bobbed steadily into view. The fishermen glanced at each other, as they came to realize what had fallen in theirs waters. It was a human body.

"Who is she?" asked the first fisherman, taking notice of the downward facing body's white female Imperial Officer's uniform. "A woman, by the looks of it…" answered the second fisherman.

"She seems to be a ranking Officer of the Imperial Army." speculated the third fisherman, as he started reaching down over the side of the boat. "Help me bring her aboard…" he commanded, then he noticed the other two's hesitation.

"If she came from the Capitol, then there'll be patrols coming out here to find her." the third fisherman growled "And if the Imperial Army learn that we've left her here to drown, then they'll surely punish Us and the Village!"

With no other course of action to take, the three fishermen proceeded in hauling the woman out of the water and into their boat, then they laid her flat on the deck for better observation. The woman was tall, between young to middle-aged, had porcelain white skin, long blue hair, large breasts, and delicate features.

"She's Beautiful!" the second fisherman commented, almost forgetting the dire condition the woman was in. "She's not breathing…" muttered the third with his left ear pressed against the woman's chest, ignoring the mounds of her cleavage smothering the side of his face. After a short moment, he lifted his head and faced his crewmates "There could be water in her lungs. We'll need to clear it out, to resuscitate her."

"I'll do it!" the second fisherman called out enthusiastically. The third shook his head and spoke in a berating tone "You do not know the necessary procedures." He then indicated a smoke pipe taken from his pocket. "And my lungs aren't what they used to be…" he points at the first fisherman "It'll have to be you, who does it…"

The first began to blush, as he looked back down at the unconscious woman. He knew how to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation, but it would require a very intimate contact with the patient.

The first leered at his associates "If either of you tell my wife about this…" he grunted venomously "I'll drown you both, out at sea." With a solemn nod, the other two complied.

The first fisherman sighed quickly, and then set himself to the task. If he was to have a chance at saving this beautiful woman's life, he would have to act fast. First, he lifted the woman's chin so that her head was slightly tilted upwards. Second, he positioned himself to where his face hovered inches above hers. Lastly, he pinched the woman's nose with one hand, and parted her lips with the other.

After quickly taking a deep breath, the first fisherman pressed his own mouth against the woman's, and blew. Then, something strange occurred. The fisherman instantly began to feel cold, as soon as he came into contact with the woman's soft lips. It started with his face, then his limbs and extremities. The sense of cold grew colder, to the point were veins and nerves began to freeze. What little feeling he had left was painfully extinguished, as his body continued to freeze up from the overwhelming cold.

The fisherman looked around to find the source of the devastating chill, and his gaze lingered over the woman's face. The only thing he'd registered seeing, was a pair of sapphire-blue eyes leering up at him. The more he looked into those eyes, the quicker he froze from the inside.

With his body now paralyzed by ice growing on him, the fisherman desperately lifted his head and cried out to his crewmates. But the last thing he saw before the his eyes were completely frosted over, were the iced statues of what had once been his associates petrified in their expression of shock and agony that mirrored his own.

With the last ounce of his strength, the first fisherman jerked his head aside towards the direction where the blue haired, blue eyed woman lay. "WHA!-AH!-ah!-!..." he croaked, before the ice sealed his vocal chords.

Esdeath stood off the deck of the boat, and observed her surroundings. Aside from three frozen statues in front of her, the entire boat and the lagoon it was floating on has been completely frozen over. But the ice hasn't stopped there, and soon enough it began to envelope the coast and the nearby village.

Esdeath's power was running wild as it altered the environment all around her, and she isn't bothering to reign it in. Ignoring the vicious expansion of her ice, the angry General turned her gaze upward, and glowered at the sky above, as if trying to leer past the clouds and overlapping blue towards imperceptible stars above along with the ship containing the object of her seething wrath. Her fury, humiliation, and thirst for vengeance overflowed all of her conscious and sense of reasoning.

"RIPLEYYYYY!" Esdeath roared at the top of her lungs, full rage and loathing hatred which further emphasized the severity of her power.

Esdeath fumed, as her anger simmered down to the point of rationality. She then glared around once again, to determine her location. In a short amount of time, the entire lagoon and coastline had been transformed into a massive glacier. With every inhabitant frozen within.

The General ignored her frozen victims beside her, and peered over the side of the boat. The water had been frozen solid enough to be traversed on foot. Underneath the icy surface, all kinds of fish were rigidly held in place, suspended by the ice which now entombed them. Nothing beneath the surface seemed alive.

Esdeath dropped down off the side of the boat, and landed gracefully atop the solid surface. She trotted at a hurried pace, as she made straight for the shore.

Upon reaching a beachfront, the Jaegers' leader gazed around and studied the village up ahead. The village was covered in ice, that same way as the lagoon, and was as silent and still as a graveyard.

Esdeath found a path which led inland, and further along, the full scope of the damage she had done became plain to see.

Statues of villagers littered the area, encapsulated in various stances and motions of what they had been doing before their freezing demise. Children were stuck in a running pose, from when they had been frolicking and playing just a moment before. Men who were village farmers and fishermen stood still, while they were attending their crops and fishing boats. Women were encased, while they were doing a wash at a nearby stream.

Esdeath walked among the frozen statues, with a calm indifference, and ignored the recent ones showing other villagers entombed whilst fleeing the icy plague which engulfed their home. Their faces contorted into masks of terror, upon noticing their attempt at escape proved futile.

At the edge of the village, where the ice had finally ceased its spread, the Esdeath found a stable with horses fortunate enough to be spared, that remain whole and healthy.

After selecting two of the strongest looking horses she can find, Esdeath reigned and saddled one, then tethered the other as a spare. "Get!" she barked furiously, after mounting the steed. Both horses, with one following the other, sped off along a path towards a road.

The General galloped forward, angrily hoping to reach anyone still living who can tell her the way back to the Empire, where she may regroup with her Subordinates and plot her revenge. She'll ensure no one gets in her way of punishing those who caused her embarrassing defeat. Not the rebels. Not Night Raid. Not even the Aliens. No force on and off this planet will stand between her and Ripley. The time for truce, negotiations, and diplomacy are long over.

This time, it's war.

Chapter 10: End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, and any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, Nature's Blight festers within the bowels of a depraved and corrupt society, as curious minds and greedy souls attempt to unravel the secrets and mysteries behind the Xenomorphs. Little do they know of the devastating consequences that may be unleashed onto their persisting efforts.


	12. Chapter 11

To All Readers: Much thanks to y our reviews so far. Any kind of feedback is most appreciated, and that's why I strive to continue this Fic all the way to the end. Please enjoy this new chapter.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 11: Harbinger

 **Courtyard, Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

The Young Emperor stooped near a pond, observing the many fish swimming in it. His expression was sullen, as he idly stared down at the water. Behind him, a large portly figure walked up, to stand at his side.

"Hey, Uncle." the Emperor addressed the man beside him "I heard the Western Nations has started to march against Us, alongside the rebels, and that hostile cult from the East." His expression grew more vexed than before "Will We be alright? It sounds like we have enemies on all sides.

Prime Minister Honest collected his thoughts and composure, before uttering a reply "My, my. Where did you hear something like that, Your Highness?" The Young Emperor turned to face him "From Seigi, Our Secretary of Domestic Affairs."

Honest contemplated on how to explain things to his Emperor "I see…It seems, Seigi has been running away from his responsibilities." His Highness was taken aback "What do you mean?"

"The uprisings across the Empire, which is occurring right now, are the Secretary of Domestic Affairs' responsibility." Honest explained "He is trying to take the heat off his back, by distracting Us with news of the Western Nations."

The Prime Minister then smiled reassuringly "Please do not worry about Our foreign enemies. We've recalled General Esdeath's army from the southern border, to meet the western threat." The Young Emperor's eyes furrowed with concern "But, the General hasn't yet completed the task she was assigned to."

Honest kept up his smile and nodded "Very true Your Highness. But, surely you can see that Our most powerful military force would be better spent routing the invaders than investigating some wild rumors of a calamity happening in some isolated mountains." He then shrugged his arms with indifference "We could always send a separate party, to pickup where the General and her Jaegers have left off."

The Emperor still seemed reluctant, so Honest kept talking "You are wise, to concern yourself with the southern incident. But rest assured, the matter will be kept well in hand. You must always remain calm and collected, so that you may continue to be the pillar which supports the People."

His Highness started to smile and relax "You're right. Thanks, Prime Minister-" _Skrreeeeee!_ A loud blood-curdling screech sounded out somewhere within the Imperial Palace. Somewhere close.

"What was that!?" the Young Emperor asked in a startled voice, primordial fear and dread began to rise from the darkest parts of his small mind. Honest's expression darkened with agitation. "Pay It no mind, Your Highness." he assured "I'm sure it was just the wind blowing through the top of the Palace towers, or some other natural phenomenon. All the same, why don't you return to your chambers, while I have a look around? Yes?"

The Emperor meekly nods, and made his way out the courtyard. Once His Highness was out sight, Honest began storm off in the opposite direction "What the Hell are those idiots doing with that Creature! I thought my orders were clear, for them to be discreet!"

 **Beneath the Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

Down past the hidden dungeons within the Imperial Palace, a calamitous struggle was under way.

"Watch out for those claws!" an Imperial Scientist called out "Keep Its tail and body restrained! We almost got It."

 _Skreee!_ The Alien screeched and hissed, as It swiped defensively at Its captors. Snag poles had caught Its tail and Its spindly midsection, and now a troop of handlers were trying to hold It back, while others try to restrain Its claws. The Imperial Soldiers braced firmly, and hid behind their shields, as they worked desperately to suppress the Alien's attack.

The Xenomorph was relentless. Every blow It threw at the shields, resulted in some Soldiers being thrown off their feet. Others were unfortunate enough to receive a secondary swipe at their armored bodies. The sharp claws sheered away at the light protection, like tearing through so much paper. Red gashes instantly appeared on the torsos of Imperial Soldiers.

"These men need medical attention!" a guard yelled, as he started dragging a wounded comrade by his hands. Suddenly, the injured soldier had been yanked out of the guard's grip, as the Xenomorph grabbed the injured man by the ankle, and tugged him back.

The Alien pulled the wounded soldier up to meet It face to face, then It parted Its teeth to reveal Its secondary set of jaws which in turn flexed and wound back. In panic, the injured guard let out a scream "Eeyyaaa!" _Schluk!_ And was quickly silenced, as his forehead collapsed inward by the inner jaws' bite which struck with the force of a pile driver.

"All of you men, quit screwing around, and subdue that Beast!" a guard bearing a sergeant's rank commanded. A group of Imperial Soldiers brandishing blunted pikes, rushed at the Alien, and began prodding It.

 _Hisss!_ The Alien reacted, by hurling the body of Its victim at Its assailants, and knocked down some of them. The other soldiers who remain standing, continue to jab at the Xenomorph, hoping to prevent more casualties.

Unfortunately, the Xenomorph maintained Its position, and managed to seize another Imperial Soldier, by grabbing a pike and wrenched the guard over into Its clutches.

The soldier began to scream "Get It off! Get It off!", while trying unsuccessfully to escape. The Alien's mouth flares open, and inside Its jaws, the secondary jaws wound back and poised to strike. Just as the Alien shot Its secondary jaws forward, the butt of a rifle slammed against the side of Its face, throwing off the bite's trajectory. The inner jaws whisked past the captured soldier's left ear, close enough for him to hear the pseudo mechanical _Snap!_ of the secondary set of sharp silvery teeth.

Before the Alien can attempt another headbite, the barrel of a large rifle jammed in between Its jaws, and forced Its mouth to wide open. The Imperial Sergeant growled, as he pushed against the rifle with all his might "You're pretty clever…" his finger rested on the trigger "Are you clever enough to know what happens, if I set this off?"

The Alien held still for a moment, then finally relent as Its arms hung limply by Its side. "Good boy…" the sergeant muttered, as his comrades came forth and bound up the compliant Xenomorph with chains. Once they were sure the chains are secure, the Imperial Soldiers stepped back to watch the Alien lie bounded and restrained.

"What's going on down here?!" a voice rang out, and everybody in the room turned to see Prime Minister Honest storm into the room, looking completely disheveled.

"I asked you all a question!" Honest roared angrily. The sergeant from before approached forth, and saluted "Apologies, Prime Minister! We were having a situation, and managed to resolve it without becoming an incident."

Honest cocked an eyebrow with suspicion. Then he stepped over to the holding cell, were the Alien was kept. His eyes first registered the Xenomorph wrapped in Its bindings "Wha-…!" then his gazed lingered next to It, where chunks of stone laid in a pile. The Prime Minister looked above where the stone had gathered, and noticed a gaping hole in the ceiling wide enough for a slightly built person to fit through.

The Imperial Sergeant began to explain "We saw the Creature hanging from the ceiling, as usual." He points to the pile "Then parts of the ceiling began falling away." He finally indicates the bound Alien "Once we realized what's happening, we ran inside the enclosure to subdue the Monster, and prevent Its escape."

An Imperial Scientist spoke up "It was chipping away at the ceiling, using Its claw to prick Itself before smearing the stone with Its blood, then chisel an opening."

Honest leaned down over the restrained Xenomorph, and snarled "You Wretched Cretin! It's pointless to defy Me!" he violently kicks the Alien, causing It to screech in rage and snap out Its inner jaw.

"Please, don't antagonize It!" a female voice commanded from behind the crowd. All eyes turned swiftly, to see a petite-looking woman step into view. "I'd rather this Specimen remain in pristine shape." she insisted.

Honest's anger subsided, and adopted a cordial tone when addressing the female stranger "Ah! You must be Miss Dorothea. You've arrived in a most opportune time." He points down at the chained Alien "This creature has proven to be most uncooperative. Simple observation, had proven fruitless into better understanding the Species." Honest then held out an arm invitingly "I was hoping you might be able to contribute to our efforts in unlocking Its secrets, and perhaps find a way to better control It."

Dorothea stared down at the Xenomorph, almost mystified by Its appearance "Perhaps…" She slowly approached the Alien, and felt along the slimy exterior of Its exoskeleton. "I've read the various reports provided by the Jaegers, after their first encounter with the Creatures. Then, I read the most recent battle reports from when they where investigating the ruins of the place known as Hadley's Hope."

Honest's expression returned to anger "Ever since those useless fools departed the Capitol, everything's become a disaster! The Empire is under threat of Invasion from the rebels and their allies. An otherworldly military power, has now joined their cause. We've even lost our most strongest General, Esdeath." The Prime Minister fumed, as he gestured back at the Xenomorph "And, to top it all off, there's practically an army of these Creatures running around in the southern wilderness, looking to kill us all, according to recently obtained information."

Dorothea held her chin, as she pondered her thoughts. "According to one of the Jaegers' testimony. Run, I believe was his name. He goes on to explain, that both the military group called the Colonial Marines, and these Creatures known as Xenomorphs or Aliens, are from an entirely different world than Our own. And, that through some unknown means, found themselves brought to this World."

Honest nodded in agreement "It is to my understanding that these Aliens are greatly feared, and well beyond formidable. Hence, the Colonial Marines' obsession towards exterminating the entire Species." Dorothea was perplexed "You don't seem too worried about these Colonial Marines."

The Prime Minister then made a malicious grin "From what We can gather, their top priority is to hunt down and wipe out all of the Aliens, while all other matters are considered secondary. That may buy Us time, to figure out how to deal with Our enemies later on." Honest stared back down at the captive Alien, as he idly stroke his beard "The Xenomorphs' view as a plague could serve as an advantage for the Empire, if utilized correctly. I'm wagering that with the knowledge we've gained from understanding Alien behavior and biology, the better we can use that knowledge to try and harness these Monsters and unleash Them on whoever may stand against us."

Dorothea was intrigued "Turning this Species into a weapon? That's a bold strategy." Honest's grin faded, as he spoke more seriously "Think you can manage It?" Dorothea made a smile "I haven't yet come across anything that my brilliant mind couldn't solve…" she stopped to where the captive Alien's head was facing "I shall endeavor to learn every single aspect of this Species' existence."

 _Hiisss!_ The Xenomorph hissed threateningly, as it parted Its jaws. Then, right when It sent out the inner jaws to strike, Dorothea's hand reached out, and caught the secondary jaws by the stem, before they can retract into the Alien's mouth. "It's a shame, We've got only one specimen as a test subject." Everyone was taken by surprise by the young woman's display of unnatural strength and dexterity.

Dorothea kept up her grin, as she relinquished the Alien's inner jaw "Do you have any proper facilities, where I can do my research?" Honest snapped his fingers, and summoned an Imperial Scientist to his side. After the scientist whispered something in the Prime Minister's ear, Honest spoke "The final pieces are now being constructed. Give it about a day or two, before it's ready." He then sighed in irritation "I'd rather this Thing be relocated before It draws unwanted attention, and We've already got our hands full with just keeping this Beast contained."

Dorothea held her chin once again in thought, then she thought up of something. "Go ahead, and prep the Specimen for movement." she instructed "I have an idea, where we can hold It for the time being."

 **Above the Empire's Atmosphere, Outer Space**

"Over here, Akame." Mine called out in front of the doorway leading in the cockpit, "You've got to see this." Akame stepped through the passageway into the cockpit, and slightly withdrew while covering her mouth in astonishment, as she gazed out past the cockpit window. Laid out before the UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship was the ever expansive blackness full of brilliantly radiant stars. Akame continued to stand there taking in the view, her crimson eyes wide and sparkling. Until the same eyes began to stream a few tears.

"It's so vast!" gasped the red eyed assassin "How far does it go? Where does it end?" Bishop was about to give an informative answer, but Hicks cut him off with a hand sign. "Never." The Corporal said plainly "Throughout Mankind's known history of space-travel, We've never found a definitive end to this Universe. Only more Galaxies, and the Stars within them."

More tears began flowing from Akame's eyes. The sight of it all made her feel so small, so insignificant, the same with her World and all the struggles within. Akame began to grow sick, and dropped to her knees.

"Akame!?" Hicks yelled with concern. But thankfully, Tatsumi was there behind to catch her, and hold her steady. "What's wrong?" Mine asked worriedly beside them. Akame started to breath a little hard "It's just so much! I don't feel too good." She then stared back out, and muttered glumly "What's the point of all this. Why should anything matter anymore?"

Everyone in Night Raid was shocked. Hicks leered behind his Co-pilot seat "Shit. She's got space dementia." Najenda looked at him with concern "What the hell does that mean?" This time Bishop took the lead, and carefully explained "It happens to certain individuals, when exposed to dramatic changes to one's mental perception. Once that happens, the person's emotional state becomes introverted, and they begin to exhibit aberrant behaviors." Not wanting to lose anyone in confusion, Hicks used layman's terms "She's going into shock. Just talk her down, and keep her calm until it passes."

Najenda moved fast, and approached her Subordinate "Take it easy Akame! Remember who you are, and what defines you! You're a member of Night Raid, you fight to bring down the Empire and save its People, and you're trying to get your Younger Sister, Kurome back." Akame stood there in Tatsumi's arms shaking her head "Are any of you not overwhelmed by all of This? Don't you see how insignificant We are to the infinite stars? How Our struggles matter little to the what's beyond?" she pointed at the cockpit window. Both Tatsumi and Mine looked out into the blackness of space for a second

"I am…" Tatsumi admitted "I feel every bit as weak and helpless as you do. It wasn't the first time I had this feeling. I felt it, the same time I lost Bro. And also from when I saw what was left of my friends Ieyasu and Sayo." The green eyed fighter steadied Akame, as he lifted her back up "It took some time, but I got over it. And so will you, because you are much more stronger than I am." He gave her a quick embrace, before releasing her "And braver too."

Mine placed a hand on Akame's shoulder, and chimed in "I felt that way too, sometimes. Back when I could only run away, and leave Sheele behind. Also, when Ripley and Newt fought their hardest against Esdeath and Seryu, while I could only watch it all happen from the side." After throwing a nod at Hicks, Mine continued "I know, this all seems too much to comprehend. That Our whole universe looks bigger then you can handle, Akame. But you're not alone. You have Friends. Powerful friends who care about you, and only ever wanted to help."

Leone came up from behind everyone "Mine's right. With the Empire, the Aliens, and everything in between, it all seems way above Night Raid's capacity to cope. But We managed to get this far, by standing together and leaning on each other. We've all pulled together with our own strengths, and always overcame the difficulties and challenges that lay before Us." The blonde woman then gently pried Akame out of Tatsumi's arms and stood her straight "So don't trust in the cause, nor the given situation. And if you can't trust yourself either, then don't bother. Place your faith in Us, instead, Akame. We'll hold you up for whenever you need it, because We know you'd do the same. That's what friends do. That's what a family does. We support one another, through thick and thin."

Looking for confirmation, Akame cast her red eyed gaze at Everyone inside the Dropship. Every single one of her comrades nodded in turn and smiled. When she rested her sight on Hicks, the Corporal spoke "When they first met, Ripley and Newt were total strangers. Neither one knew anything about the other, but they both shared a common ground in suffering terrible tragedies because of the Aliens. It was their shared pain and loss which had bonded them so closely. And with that same bond, they took down an extremely powerful enemy." The Marine idly thumbed his pocket, and jangled the loose bunch of metal inside. They were the dog tags belonging to every one of Hicks' teammates who lost their lives down in Hadley's Hope. The mementos of the valiantly deceased were retrieved and brought to him, courtesy of Tatsumi and Leone who went through the trouble of burying what was left of the Colonial Marines and the Colonists they were sent to rescue."

"Never lose sight of what others had lost." Hicks solemnly declared "That's what sets Us apart from the Enemy. And that's what We're going to use, in order to win." A small alarm began buzzing off of Bishop's pilot HUD, and all eyes turned toward the front of the cockpit. No one said a word, as they watched the entire view get block by an approaching technological hulk powering along the blackness of space.

"Along with that hunk of metal backing Us up…" Hicks finished with a grin.

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Outer Space**

Once docking was complete, the Dropship's occupants disembarked. Bishop led the way down the loading ramp, while pushing along a wheeled stretcher holding an unconscious Hudson. Hicks and Mine followed close behind, then Tatsumi and Leone shuffled after with Akame walking steadily between them in an awkward gait. Najenda, Lubbock, and Chelsea were next to walk down, and Susanoo brought up the rear.

Once all of Night Raid cleared the Dropship, They assembled around their leader while casting stares of wonderment, as they surveyed the Hangar. Clutters of machine parts, storage crates and supply boxes lay scattered along the grated floor panels.

Other more conspicuous clues entailed the struggle which transpired here. Spent bullet casings littered small areas here and there. Shards of ice still flecked along the walls and some floor paneling. A pile of shimmering red dust lay bunched up along a large heavy bulkhead door. A large anthropomorphic machine in yellow color lay crumpled to the side. And the most grisly sign, was the broken lower torso of a person, severed and bisected below the waistline. A pool of drying blood oozed all over floor around the cadaver.

"Wow. Someone made a mess of things." commented Chelsea, after she whistled. Lubbock nodded in agreement "Must have been one hell of a fight, from the looks of it." Najenda kept surveying the hangar, while taking a closer look at the ice leavings. "Yeah." she concurred "It looks that way."

Night Raid's leader stepped over to a closed hatch in the floor. The Loading Lock was rigidly sealed, but had a heap of debris trailing all around the perimeter of the hatch's cautionary stripes. "Was this how Ripley did it?" Najenda asked Mine, inquisitively "Did she use these doors, to get rid of Esdeath?" her pink haired Subordinate nodded with grim confirmation "She had Bishop and Hicks rig up a delayed timer, that would have opened the doors on remote. Then gravity and vacuum took care of the rest."

Tatsumi joined his Commander, and Teammate over at the loading lock. With a grunt, he kicked aside some of the ice that was trailing there "Good riddance. We no longer have to worry about facing her down the road." Akame walked up beside him "Incredible. Hicks, Ripley, Bishop, and Newt did what so many others died attempting. They eliminated General Esdeath in one fell swoop."

"That was the easy part." Mine pointed out to the red dust, and the lower body part "It was Seryu, who proved more difficult." She then gestured at the downed Power Loader "Ripley had to use that Machine, to stand up against Seryu's Imperial Arm. Crazy lady had to use every trick in the book, to contend with that Monster." The Genius Sniper stared at Seryu's remains, with a hard expression "But, it was Newt who put a stop to Seryu's rampage dead in its tracks."

Mine shifted her stare down to her hands which were still wrapped in bloody bandages, and painfully clenched her hands, while gritting her teeth. Much to her surprise, she saw Tatsumi reach over and gently held her wrists. "I'm sure you gave them Hell, as well." Tatsumi spoke with a bright grin "I wouldn't expect any less from such a badass fighter."

Mine started blush with embarrassment, but it was put off by annoyance as she sees Leone come up behind Tatsumi and drape both arms over his shoulder while pressing her bosom against his back. "Speaking of badasses." said the voluptuous blonde "Where are the two Femme Fatales, that made this victory possible?"

Hicks called out to get Everyone's attention "This way, Everybody. Ripley is waiting for Us, up in Medical." He began marching down a narrow hall which appeared behind a retractable door on the side. Bishop trundled Hudson in the stretcher along after.

"Let's go, Night Raid." Najenda commanded "I don't want to keep Our Savior waiting." She marched down the passageway, following after Bishop. Lubbock, Chelsea, and Susanoo accompanied her.

"C'mon." Tatsumi began pulling Mine forward "Let's see if We can do something about those hands of yours." Mine made no objection, as the green eyed fighter led her towards the hallway in pursuit of their Commander. Leone offered to help Akame catch up, but the red eyed assassin politely waved her away, before walking down the corridor more confidently than when she was exiting the Dropship.

"Hurry Up!" Hicks called out to the those in the back "You can get lost on this Ship, if you don't know your way around. And We don't have the time to go looking for stragglers"

Night Raid and the Colonial Marines walked further into the bowels of the Sulaco, stepping through various corridors and passageways. All manners of machines and tech systems hummed and whirred with sophisticated purpose in operating and maintaining this Ship.

"How do you keep so many gadgets and devices running aboard this Ship, without any sort of specialized crew?" Najenda asked, completely astounded. Bishop promptly answered her "Most ships in our fleet utilize powerful computers with advanced A.I. programs, to oversee all operations and procedures aboard each vessel. It was designed in a way, to which it can function as a full complementary crew and support supplement." At the front of the Synthetic Android, and Night Raid's leader, Hicks turn his head and called back "If need be, this Ship and all its systems can even fight a war, all by itself without having to bring its human occupants out of hypersleep."

All of Night Raid were abuzz in awe and wonder, as they marveled at such a fantastic epitome of interstellar warfare. Along the way, every member within the group of assassins took notice of a certain emblem arranged along the corridor walls at frequent intervals, which obviously denoted the Colonial Marines insignia. The emblem illustrates a large vicious eagle's head descending in a blaze towards a large planet of blue oceans and white clouds, with a pale-white moon in background orbit. Nobody doubted the insignia's applicability to the group it heralded.

"That's a Kick-Ass banner you're military uses, Hicks." complimented Leone. Hicks grinned "Yours isn't half bad either. I'll probably ink it on my gear, when I get the chance."

"Just don't go around posing as one of us, if you do." Najenda warned "Esdeath caused Us enough grief, when her Three Beasts pulled that stunt." Much to Everyone's surprise, Bishop replied to that remark "The General will no longer trouble you in that regard. But if you would hear my advice, I'd suggest you bring all the deeds colluded between her and the Prime Minister, to the public eye. If Night Raid truly sought the well being of the Empire. It's people must know that their revered General was no martyr to their defensive cause, but a perpetrator to their own oppression."

Akame was the first to rebuttal "We're a band of assassins that work in the shadows. Even if Night Raid works to restore freedom and justice to the Empire, the people will not take to the necessary changes, if they learn of the lives We've taken to bring it about." Hicks made a slight chuckle "Tearing down an old society to give rise to a new one, is never a clean business nor a peaceful one. Earth's history can attest to that. But, you can't make a new coin into currency, if nobody knows the two sides of it. It's for a nation's own good if society knew the truth of things. It'll be ugly for sure. Most would reject and dismiss it as horse shit. Others would resent all parties involved, to their dying day. All the same, everyone must grasp the truth and facts that follow, then learn from the mistakes that were made. It's like how medicine works. Most of the time, it's going taste bitter, and you'll be better off in the long run."

"Speaking of which…" Mine interrupted "How much further until We reach Medical?"

"Not much further." Bishop answered. Mine made a low grumble "ok…"

"Is something wrong, Mine?" Tatsumi asked anxiously "You're favoring your right side." Everyone eyed their pink haired Comrade, and noticed she was slightly hobbled over and pressed up against Tatsumi for balance. "What's the matter with you?" Najenda demanded, and the entire procession halted to see what was the issue.

Knowing she could no longer keep it a secret from her allies, Mine lifted her top high enough to reveal her midriff. And above the right side of her hip, was a hastily assembled patch of bandages covering a shallow bleeding wound from where Seryu clipped her with a bullet from her mouth gun.

"I had hoped it wouldn't have bled so much after covering it." Mine confessed "I figured I'd properly patch it up later, after coming to you guys' rescue."

"And if you were to pass out instead, in the heat of battle!?" Najenda rebuked hotly "What then!?" Mine flinched at her Commander's chastising she began to loom down in embarrassment and shame.

Hicks began to speak with disdain "Not only would you have failed to repel the Imperial onslaught, but if any of Us had tried to tend to you during that operation, Wave would've gotten the jump on all of Us, right there on that roof. Then We all would've been compromised, leaving the others out front, exposed and vulnerable on their flank."

Before more reproaching comments were mentioned, it was Leone who spoke out "C'mon, Boss. And you too Hicks, chill out." Both of them had turned to glare at the voluptuous blonde.

Leone held herself unwaveringly "Mine's recklessness might have put Us all at risk. But have you forgotten? We were all neck deep in that shit from the get-go, and needed every covering support we had on hand, to get out of it."

An uncomfortable silence settled in the group, until Mine started to speak "I wasn't going to stay up here aboard this Ship, and wait to see which of my teammates were coming back. If any were coming back at all."

Hicks shook his head "You were already in sore condition, after what happened with Seryu. You think you could have made things better, if you didn't get prepared right?"

Before Mine can answer, Chelsea spoke up "The Jaegers got the drop on Us. They had Us dead to rights. No one was prepared for that. And in order to bail Us out, you'd just let a civilian and a kid face down two of the Empire's deadliest killers. Do you think you could have done any better in that situation?" In following with the redhead's argument, Susanoo began to voice a statement. "It was a daunting affair altogether." he reasoned "Neither of Us could've known what was in store at Hadley's Hope that day, let alone gotten ready for it." Lubbock also chimed in "Su is right. Things couldn't have gotten any worse than they did, back there. Let's just give it a rest, and thank Our lucky stars that We're all up here in one piece talking about it."

Hicks grunted, but didn't say any more. He turned to face the front, and saw that Bishop had already walked ahead of them down the corridor pushing Hudson's stretcher along.

"Why the delay?" Bishop called back to them "Medical is this way."

With No one speaking further, the group continued along the passageway to catch up with the Synthetic Android.

Upon reaching where Bishop had stopped and waited for the party to rejoin him, they came upon a stairwell leading to the upper decks. Beside it was an elevator.

"Medical is just a few levels above Us." Hicks announced "We can reach it, by climbing these stairs." He then gestured at the elevator "The injured go that way." Without breaking stride, Bishop guided Hudson's stretcher towards the parting doors onto the platform.

"Mine. That means you too." Najenda ordered "Get on that thing, and follow Bishop." Mine made like she was about to protest, but her Commander cut her off "Tatsumi, go with them, and keep her out of trouble." Tatsumi took Mine by the shoulders, and hurried along "You got it, Boss." The couple stepped in the elevator, alongside Bishop and Hudson. As soon as the doors closed, the elevator thrummed to life and began traveling upwards.

"We'll meet them, upstairs." Hicks motioned for Everyone remaining to follow him, and the group started the climb.

"You never seem to miss an opportunity to act cool, do you Mine?" Tatsumi sighed as he led the Genius Sniper out past the elevator doors, while following closely behind Bishop. Mine was thoroughly agitated by his dismay "I don't need to be pitied by someone who can't even keep his fly closed."

An angry vein pulsed on Tatsumi's forehead "Well, at least a wardrobe malfunction has been the only thing anyone's faulted me for." Mine didn't respond right away. When she did, her voice was sad instead of crass. "They would have killed Us." she muttered "Every last one of Us. And no matter what I could've done, I still wouldn't have been able to do anything about it."

Tatsumi remained silent, as he continued to hear Mine lament. "When Ripley asked that I would accompany her in escorting Esdeath to the Sulaco, I thought I was going to play a major part in dealing with her and Seryu." the pink haired young woman fumed "But I was wrong. It wasn't for my skill or my Imperial Arm, that I was chosen. It was my size and stature. Aside from Newt, I was probably the shortest and lightest in weight among Us. That made it easier to move out of harm's way. That was all I could've offered in those circumstances, to be the least of burdens."

"We can't measure ourselves by what we could offer to one another." explained Tatsumi "If someone must rise to the challenge, it falls to the others to stand strong and offer what little help as we are able." Tatsumi then reached behind, and felt the hilt of Incursio "Could you imagine what the others and myself were feeling, down back at the Colony? Completely surrounded, with no hope of escaping?" he let go of Incursio "Things were grimly uncertain to Us, during that standoff. But, We stuck it out. We held on to faith, that Ripley and Hicks would come through and save Us somehow. That was all that we could do in such extreme circumstance."

The couple followed Bishop around a corner and up to a pair of large doors. The double doors were marked by large white crosses beneath a light sign reading MEDICAL. "You said it yourself, Mine. All We have in this fight, is each other." Tatsumi added "It's not always a bad thing, to have a friend get you out of a bind, once in a while."

The four of them came through another set of doors, and found themselves in a brightly lit, white-walled complex of laboratories, operating rooms, and examination clinics.

"Tatsumi. Think you can see to Mine, while I take care of Hudson?" Bishop asked "He needs attention, right away without a moment to spare." The green eyed fighter nodded brightly "Sure, Bishop. If you can show me where you keep the First-Aid supplies." The Science Officer gestured over to a table with a cupboard nearby "There's a medical kit in the bottom shelf. Hemostat and disinfectant are inside." Tatsumi began leading Mine in that direction "Cool. I got this, Bishop. I can handle the rest."

Without stopping, Bishop went on wheeling Hudson on his stretcher further into the complex.

"Have a seat, Mine." Tatsumi gestured at the table. Mine obeyed his instruction, and awkwardly clambered up onto the table's cold hard surface. "Do you remember, which bottles to use?" Mine asked. Tatsumi brought out the kit from its compartment, and began rummaging through its contents. "These two. Right?" he replied, after bringing out a pair of medicine sprays. Mine nodded in confirmation.

Tatsumi then set the bottles aside, and reached out to her "You're going to have to remove your coat." Both of them immediately blushed at the statement, but Mine didn't argue as she reached for the ribbon tie around her neck. Then stopped, as she realized her bandaged hands couldn't undo the knot.

"Let me do it." Tatsumi offered, then started to reach to undo the ribbon. Mine gave an involuntary shudder, which sent Tatsumi startling back. "I'm sorry!" he apologized.

Mine gave a low murmur "No…" She shook her head, and padded her hands against her cheeks "If it's just you…" Mine then looked at Tatsumi, and nodded "It's ok…"

With steady hands, Tatsumi undid the knot. Being this close to Mine, he notices there were slight tears and stretched fabric all over her attire. Not wanting to guess what had caused those, Tatsumi doubled his focus on his current task.

After the shawl and long sleeved shirt came away, the green eyed fighter stared only for an instant at Mine, unable to ignore the pink haired gunner's feminine shoulders with slender arms crossing over a partially exposed chest which still had Mine's remaining top article piece, a pale satin innerwear made all the more paler by the growing blush of magenta creeping all over her light/pink skin.

A bashful Mine looked away with embarrassment, as she kept her arms protectively wrapped around her small bosom, trying to stay still and quiet, even as she began to shiver and her heart began to race.

Not wanting Mine to stand another moment of modesty, Tatsumi hurriedly applied the medicine to Mine's wound. He sprayed the sterilizer first, covering the small cut above Mine's petite hip. Then, he applied the hemostat, before cleaning away the bloodstains with a cloth. After the cut was cleaned and the bleeding stopped, Tatsumi wrapped it with a fresh roll of bandages. He then looked up and glanced all over the place, before setting his sight on a small drawer nearby.

"Wait here." Tatsumi instructed Mine, as he stepped over and dug through the drawer's contents. He then returned with a patient's robe in the color of minty green. "You should wear this, until your clothes are sanitized." he offered to Mine who graciously took the garment, and quickly slipped it on.

"Thanks, Tatsumi." Mine said with an appreciative smile, which made Tatsumi look the other way in embarrassment. "Uh, right." he squawked dryly, then he leaned over and held Mine's wrists "Let's work on your hands now. Shall we?"

After going up several levels, Hicks waved Night Raid over to a pair of doors at the end of a corridor. "The others are just past these doors." They stepped through the entrance to the med-lab, and spotted Mine sitting on an examination table. Tatsumi was standing in front of her, and spraying medicine all over Mine's bloody fingers. The pink haired gunner made a wince, which vanished as the medicinal spray was applied. Her expression then became soothingly relaxed, when her green eyed Comrade began wrapping her hands back up with a fresh set of bandages.

"Well, looky here." Lubbock chuckled "Looks like Tatsumi's spoiling Mine, with some tender lovin-" before he finish his remark, Lubbock felt a large hand press down from atop his head, and was forced to turn and look Hicks square in the face. "Zip it…" The Corporal growled "Mine had nearly been tortured and raped, just so that Esdeath could intimidate Us. She had also been shot at, on multiple times by Imperial Soldiers and Seryu. She did it, because Newt stood up to that sadistic General and her psychotic Lackey, but Mine didn't want the little girl to get hurt." He relented on his grip of Lubbock's scalp, and stood back "And, despite what she went through, Mine still insisted on returning to the surface, to help with pulling your lily asses out of that situation with the Jaegers and the Imperial Army."

With the events transpiring aboard the Dropship back then coming to light, all members of Night Raid reacted in shock and disgust. Najenda angrily clenched her normal hand into a fist, and muttered "Damn you, Esdeath…" Leone, Chelsea, and Akame all stared at Mine, with a delicate expression. Susanoo crossed his arms, then muttered "The General truly lives up to her reputation."

"None of that mattered in the end." a voice spoke out in, response to that statement

All eyes turned to see Ripley step out of a nearby clinical room wearing a patient's white robe, and bandages on her cheek and arms. Newt stood behind her, counting out everyone present. "Is Everybody okay?" Ripley asked.

Najenda smiled and gestured at all her Subordinates "We're all fine. Thank you for asking." Ripley made a sigh of relief, as Newt walked out from behind her "Were you able to make all of the Bad People go away?" This time, it was Lubbock who had answered "Sure did. Thanks to Mine and Hicks, We've managed to open up a can of Whoop Ass on the Imperial troops and the Jaegers."

After her treatment was done, Mine hopped off of the examination table and spoke "We couldn't have done it without Newt. If it wasn't for her and Imperial Arm, Spectator, We've wouldn't have had Esdeath or Seryu eating out of Our hands." Tatsumi came up beside her, and gave a thumbs-up "Wouldn't expect anything less from someone who'd faced the Aliens, and made it out alive. Compared to Them, the Jaegers were cake." Suddenly, Tatsumi found himself with his head wrapped beneath Leone's mended arm, and receiving noogies.

"Easy, Killer. There's still plenty of fighting left, before it's all over." despite Leone's teasing, Tatsumi carefully tried to wrench himself free "Ease up, Sis. I don't want your arm to go popping right off, after having recently been fixed." Akame walked up to both of them laid an arm on Leone's shoulder "He's right. There's too much that needs to be done, to be wasting time fooling around."

"You said it, Akame." Najenda spoke up to get Everyone's attention "Night Raid. I want all of you to get cleaned up and recuperate, then get ready for Our next assignment."

Ripley stepped aside, and opened a set of doors that led further into the medical wing "The Med-Lab should have all the necessary facilities, to heal your wounds. Talk to Bishop, and he'll get you situated." She headed into the medical complex, with Night Raid in tow.

When they had found Bishop, he was in a wing lined with a row stasis pods, and busily operating a control panel accompanying a pod at the end of the row. As Ripley and Night Raid approached the Synthetic Android, they noticed Hudson had occupied the nearby pod.

"What's Hudson's status?" Ripley asked, careful not to sound apprehensive. Bishop pressed a few more buttons on the control console, before taking his eyes off the adjoining bio-readout screen.

"Nothing definitive, at this moment." was Bishop's reply "The preliminary scans have just commenced, and they haven't provided any thorough readings yet. It will be a moment before I have a more detailed reading on the Private's endomorphic physiology." Ripley made a scowl "Do what you have to do. I don't care what it takes. Even if you have to cut him open, to be sure…"

Everyone from Night Raid was taken aback by Ripley's callous insistence on such a mortifying endeavor. "What's wrong Ripley?" Tatsumi asked "Why ask Bishop go so far in inspecting Hudson?"

"It's to see whether there's an Alien in him or not." Akame grimly explained "That's why she had Hudson placed inside a pod, for containment." Ripley slowly nodded "These pods are equipped with advanced sensors, that detect biological anomalies within a given occupant. If something does happen to be inside the occupant's body, it'll show up in the computer monitors' bio-readouts.

Chelsea raises her hand "And if Something does happen to show up there?" Hicks stepped forward, and responded "Then we'll try to have Bishop use the equipment here in Med-Lab, to try and remove the Parasite, so We can destroy It." The Corporal came closer to Hudson's stasis pod "If Bishop is unsuccessful, or We're too late…" he cast a sidelong glance at Ripley "Then We'll jettison the pod and send them both out into space."

Night Raid was morbidly aghast by this prospect. Mine delicately felt along the bandages around her hands. Tatsumi gave a foreboding glare at the stasis pod's bio-readout screen. Leone fidgeted uncomfortably. Akame forlornly shook her head. Chelsea covered her mouth, to stifle a gasp. Lubbock felt the front of his ribcage, while lowly whispering "yikes…" Susanoo kept his arms crossed, as he quietly stared at Hudson in the stasis pod. Najenda was the only one to speak up "Are you sure you'd want to do that to your fellow Comrade? Can't you try to find preserve him? Keep him frozen, until you find a way to save him?"

Ripley darkly shook her head. "We came all the way out here, to destroy Them. Not to study. Not to bring back. But to wipe Them out." she explained with grim resolve. To help reinforce Ripley's declaration, Hicks agreed "We've lost so much, trying to make it this far. The risk is too great, to take any chances." He cradled his Pulse-Rifle "We can't allow to have one of Those Bastards come back with Us."

Hicks slung his weapon's strap over his shoulder, and reached down into his pocket to bring out a slim rectangular device "And as soon as We decipher the coordinates on this navigational hard-drive. We'll make sure to find the Derelict, and scour that damned vessel clean. Before anyone comes by, who's stupid enough to go messing with what's inside."

 **Dr. Stylish' Lab, Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

The doors to the deceased Jaeger's lab opened, and Prime Minister Honest strolled past with his hands behind his back as he surveyed the interior of the room. On one side, countless books and paper documents filled a large shelf that sat along the wall. The other side had rows of smaller shelves lined with jars full of various substances, samples, and specimens. At the back of the lab was an operating table, accompanied by a large desk with electrical devices and instruments occupying the top. Fitting between the corners were charts and graphs containing a multitude of calculations and equations.

At the center of the room were a cluster of tall cylindrical tanks full of clear liquid, and inside the largest of them was the lone Alien floating inanimately within the lucid fluid. The Prime Minister approached the large stasis tank, and closely observed the Xenomorph within. It bobbed calmly in the stillness of the tank, with only small spasms and twitches from Its arms, legs, and tail being the only indications that It was still alive. Beside the cluster of tanks, stood Dorothea with her back hunched over and turned away from the Prime Minister.

Honest was about to tap his fingers against the glass

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you..." Dorothea warned, as she turned without looking up. The Prime Minister saw that Dorothea was engrossed with reading something off a clipboard "I have It sedated for now." A closer look revealed a set small tubes protruding from various regions of the Xenomorph's anatomy. "It's blood dissolved any conventional needles that managed to penetrate Its body." Dorothea explained "So, I fashioned some special hypodermics from the bones of the 'fingers' belonging to that small parasite which spawned the Alien." She indicated a small culture tank near the large main one, which held the Facehugger lacking most of its digits "It wasn't hard to cut it up. It seems the acid-blood oxidizes, some time after the parasite's death. I then had to penetrate to wherever the Alien's exoskeleton was thinnest, and hoped for the best." At the other end of the cluster of tubes was a squat, cylindrical machine pumping a greyish substance through the transparent hose. "It's ability to metabolize toxins and foreign agents is astounding. I had to use a special batch of sedatives from out of my private stock, to put It under. Really potent stuff too, but it wears off quickly without a constant dosage, and It may still awake to external stimuli."

Honest quickly withdrew his hand, and turn to address the foreign Alchemist "I trust, you find our accommodations suitable to your work standards?" Dorothea look up from her clipboard in reply "It will suffice. For the time being." She then indicated the lab's surroundings "The late Dr. Stylish was a quite a innovative worker and a diligent researcher. It's no wonder he was known far and wide as one the best scientific minds, even from outside the Empire." Honest idly brushed his nose "Which made his passing all the more shameful..."

Dorothea nodded in agreement, and sighed in disappointment "It really is such a shame. I was hoping to pick his brain on a whole slew of intellectual topics." The short woman then perked up "Luckily, the good doctor had the foresight to document his experimental theories and methods of research." She held up the clipboard, and waved it around.

Honest gave an enthused smile "So, Dr. Stylish's notes have been of some use?" Dorothea nodded again "Plenty. His work had been written so eloquently, that it took no time for genius like me to grasp a great understanding in his field of study." Honest's smile then formed a grin "It pleases me to know, that Syura has done well to recruit you as part of his new team of special operatives. I truly look forward to seeing what the whole lot of you can do…"

Dorothea made an excited grin, and beckoned over to the desk with all the electronics "I took a sample of the Creature's blood, using the same kind of syringe as before, and mixed it with some of Its secretions, to dilute the acidic properties. Now We can fully analyze the corrosive sample without damaging any of the equipment." She turned a computer on, then pointed at a data-screen "Take a look at these molecular components. See anything unusual?" Honest glared at the viewscreen, and frowned "My understanding of biological study has gotten somewhat rusty." He muttered, then blinked a couple of times at the molecular data "If memory serves right, there should be only four components that go inside a DNA strand. And I see more than four."

Dorothea's grin grew wider "You're absolutely correct." She pressed a button on the computer console, and the image of the mysterious extra components became enlarged "We both know the four original pieces go by the names Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine." Question marks began to appear beside each extra component "But these, don't correspond to any known chemical element that exist within the periodic table." The Prime Minister's brow furrowed with concern "So you're saying that this is a dead end?"

"Hardly." answered the Alchemist "The composition of these new pieces may be foreign and unknown, but they're not all that complex." Dorothea took another look at the screen "Their layout is simple enough to comprehend." she continued "It's almost as if the components themselves and by extension the Xenomorph organism was…engineered. Like an artificial construct."

"Are you saying, something or someone made these Creatures?" The Prime Minister questioned "How and why?" Dorothea shrugged "I have no way of determining that answer." The Alchemist then pointed at the dormant Alien "But if This was a naturally evolved organism…" she turned back around, and pressed a key to return the computer viewscreen to showing the image of Alien DNA "It's genetic makeup would have gotten a whole lot more refinement than what We have here.

Honest glimpsed at the strand "I see some gaps here and there." He then pointed out along the DNA sequence, there were a few code brackets missing a single base code or a pair altogether "Were they damaged?" Dorothea shook her head "No. Those gaps are what made me consider this Species as a manufactured concept." she then magnified the screen to zoom in "They're incomplete."

Dorothea set aside the clipboard she was holding, and picked up a few notes left on the desk "The entire strand itself has enough coding within its mammal grooves, for the Organism to perpetuate Itself." She then indicated the enlarged image "But, these openings seem like genetic receptors that can add an extra element of coding to the whole."

With the image of the large enough to see clearly, both the foreign Alchemist and the Prime Minister noticed several receptors openings were darker than the others. "This group seems to be lying dormant within the sequence." Dorothea theorized "Perhaps they'll be become responsive under certain conditions are met? Maybe, once the active ones bond with the corresponding material."

Honest cocked an eyebrow "What happens if such a thing were to take place?" Dorothea smirked "Then, the altered sequence will realign, and the Organism undergoes change, to assume a different form according to Its new genetic makeup." The Prime Minister grew fascinated with morbid curiosity "Change into What?" he asked warily. The Alchemist kept up her smirk "Something much more impressive. A higher echelon of Its lifecycle." She saw that Honest was impatiently befuddled "Plainly speaking, This Alien and probably all of Its kind, carry both the instructions and ingredients to forcibly evolve without the need for diverse conditioning. That's what this computer's trying to tell Us."

Honest stroked his beard and licked his lips "Can the change be induced artificially? Is it possible to chemically match the right material to a receptor?" Dorothea glanced back over at the computer screen "It would explain the existence if these strangely unnatural molecular components. They must act as some sort of catalyst or accelerant in order to initiate the change." The Prime Minister heard all he wanted hear "You may start with experimentation, immediately. I want to see what other forms can this Creature turn into."

Dorothea stared at the Xenomorph in stasis "I'll need to synthesize the necessary base chemicals. I can try using some of my own equipment, to get it done." She then indicated the computer screens on the desk "But, I was hoping We'd get Our hands on some more advanced technology than what we have in this lab. This is about as far as it can take me with the research." Honest glanced at the far side of the lab, with a distant expression "I know where We can look for something that might be of use."

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Outer Space**

A sliding door opened, and Akame walked in to find herself in a part of the armory where the test firing range was located. On one end of the spacious room, a lone figure stood near a table strewn with tools and gun parts. Hicks sighted a modified Combat Pistol, after pulling back its slide with a familiar sound _Kr-chk!_

"Excellent." Hicks murmured in satisfaction. It wasn't until he started panning the weapon around, did he notice Akame in his periphery. "Whoa!" Hicks pulled withdrew the gun "Sorry, Akame. I didn't know you were there." The red eyed assassin paid no mind to the Marine's apology, as she approached him wearing a surly look."

"Something the matter?" asked Hicks.

Akame held up a partially torn food wrapping with a yellow soft-looking cube inside "I was in your ship's galley. And all I can find that looks edible, are these weird confections." She indicated the cube in food wrapping "What is this, anyway?"

Hicks took a look at the food piece presented to him. After a quick sniff, he answered "Cornbread, I think." He then pressed the morsel towards Akame "It's good for you, girl. Eat it."

Akame gave the cornbread a long stare. And afterwards, she took a bite out of the food. Then another. And another. "Dry…" she said, after making a hard swallow "I thought you had normal food, aboard this ship." Hicks took the wrapper from Akame's hand, and threw it into a nearby disposal chute. "We do." he insisted "We use special machines, and dispensers to prepare our meals. So, we don't normally have it stored in fridges or cabinets."

Akame looked thoroughly peeved "You use computers and technology to cook food for you. Even for advanced people like you, that seems unnecessarily ridiculous." Hicks smirked, and let out a chuckle "You really think so, huh? Well our society had grown to learn to prioritize and manage time wisely. We'd figured kitchen duty was better left to gadgets and doohickeys, while people continued working."

"So, your society prefers convenience over quality?" Akame asked with admonishment.

"That's just the key to our advancement." Hicks shrugs "We pass over some tedious necessities, on to adequate substitutes. Then, we use the extra time and energy to pursue and further our innovations."

"Innovations, like what?" Akame inquired further.

"Innovations, like this." Hicks presented the weapon he had been working on, to Akame "Here. Feel the weight of this bad boy."

Akame recognized the gun as the same one she had been using as a sidearm. Only, it wasn't exactly the same anymore. She noticed a small sight scope was mounted atop of the pistol's slide, a longer clip jutted out from beneath the trigger grip, and the safety had a third selection.

"Wow, Hicks." Akame exclaimed "What exactly did you do to this gun?" The Corporal made a mischievous grin "Customized it, for optimal firepower." He held the modified pistol in his hand, and carefully explained each new upgrade "I found some extended clips for loading extra rounds. You can now fire 21 bullets instead of 18." He ejected the clip, and slapped it back in, to show the reloading process remains the same. Then the Marine pointed the weapon downrange, and stared through the small scope "I've also installed a reflex sight scope, for quick aiming. Just place the dot on your intended target, and pull the trigger." _Bam!_ Hicks fired off a shot, and hit a paper target hanging from a hook. "The last thing I did, and this one is really special…" he indicated the safety, and selected the third option "Was convert it to full-auto." He aimed back down the range, and squeezed the trigger _B-B-BAM! B-B-BAM! B-B-B-B-BAM!_ The Auto Pistol let out a hailstorm burst of automatic fire, which tore up the paper target, leaving only tatters on the hook.

Akame was awestruck by the ceaseless barrage provided by the Auto Pistol "You sure know your guns, Hicks. And here I am thinking Mine was the only one to come up with lethal innovations." Hicks slid the Auto Pistol into a new thigh holster, and presented it to Akame.

The red eyed assassin then graciously accepted the offer, and began belting the holster back around her right leg. She was about to walk off, before Hicks caught her by the arm. "I've noticed, you don't have Murasame on you." the Marine pointed out "Were did you leave your Imperial Arm?" Akame answered in a uncertain tone "Bishop has it. He asked that if he can temporarily borrow all of Night Raid's Imperial Arms for analysis."

Hicks sighed with dismay. He then out away his tools and parts, pick up a large dark case, before slinging its harness strap over his shoulder, and started to walk out of the armory. Akame trotted close behind.

"Sorry, if he accosted you like that, but he means well." the Corporal explained, as the duo made their way through the Sulaco's corridors "Bishop may be an artificial person, but he's still got some quirks in him that kind of count as personalities. We've known him to be overly curious at times, and would constantly seek to learn and understand how things work."

Akame smiled nonchalantly "I'm sure, it's alright. He's never done anything careless. My team has complete trust in him." Akame's smile faded in confusion "I can't understand why Bishop would be so fascinated with Imperial Arms. From what We've all seen so far, you Colonial Marines possess far superior weapons." Hicks made a shrug "Our weapons have flaws and drawbacks. They're not as versatile as Imperial Arms, because the usefulness are limited to certain extents." Akame glimpsed down at the Auto Pistol strapped to her side, then understood. A gun can be powerful and deadly form afar, but once it runs out of ammo, it becomes useless.

"You think, maybe Bishop is gonna try and replicate the Imperial Arms?" Akame asked, and the Corporal spoke back a reply "Perhaps. We never had weapons like the Imperial Arms, back on Earth. Any person from back home, would have considered weapons with such unnatural properties as magical items straight out of legends and myths." The red eyed assassin nodded "I see…" She then held her chin in thought "But, what does he really hope to accomplish, when he's never had any experience with Imperial Arms at all?" Hicks looked back with a grin "He's a tenacious one, for starters. Give him a map and a magnet, and he'll find the Holy Grail for you. That's why, he's invaluable to the team. He's always known the right way of getting things done."

The pair arrived at the Medical deck, and stepped through a sliding door. When they entered and surveyed the spacious ward, both of them noticed a few of Night Raid gathered behind the glass of an examination room. They see Najenda, with Tatsumi beside her, both watching Bishop seated next to Susanoo who was sifting still on an examination table. Mine sat up in a bed across the small group. Ripley and Newt were in the hypersleep room, standing vigil over a still comatose Hudson. Lubbock, Chelsea, and Leone were elsewhere.

Hicks and Akame stepped through the threshold, and entered the room. Once inside, they both could see the Synthetic Android perform a peculiar procedure on the other artificial person. With his inhumanly dexterous hands, Bishop used a sharp instrument to scrape away at Susanoo's core. The humanoid Imperial Arm made a look of discomfort, as flakes of his own core were slightly chip away and collected in a sterile test tube.

Once the glass sample container was more than half filled, Bishop set his tools down, and set the test tube aside "Alright Mr. Susanoo. That'll be all I need. You can get up now." Susanoo promptly stood up, and joined in standing alongside his master.

"Just what do you think, you're doing, Bishop?" Hicks demanded upon entering the examination room. The Synthetic Android gathered up his equipment, before turning to address the Corporal "I'm just collecting some material samples from Night Raid's Imperial Arms, for later analysis."

"There are more important things for you to handle, aboard this ship." the Corporal chastised his Executive Officer. Bishop spoke back in his usual level demeanor "The Sulaco's main computer is currently deciphering the coordinates within the data log from the Jorden family's Daihotai Tractor. Until I can read out those coordinates to you, I won't be able to begin the time consuming task of interfacing with the Computer, to unlock the Ship's nuclear weapons. And I need either You or Private Hudson to assist in the repairs of the Ship."

Hicks kept pressing the issue "So, why are you bothering Night Raid, by tinkering tinkering with their Imperial Arms?" Bishop gestured to the many instruments and equipment within the Med-Lab "I figured I could use Medical's forensic laboratories, to determine what these weapons are comprised of."

"I don't think Our guests would appreciate you trying to damage or dismantle the things of great importance them." Bishop twirled the slim little set of forceps in his hand with extremely dexterous fingers "I assured Commander Najenda and her team, that I would be of utmost care."

"It's alright, Hicks." Najenda spoke up "I've asked him to do it." The Marine cocked an eyebrow in disbelief, so Night Raid's leader explained to him "In the past six centuries since their creation, We've never been able to develop new Imperial Arms. That knowledge was lost to Us throughout the Empire's history, along with a significant number of the originals." She gestured to the small vial of Susanoo's core scrapings "I was hoping, that with Bishop's intellectual capabilities and the Colonial Marines' technology, We'd unlock the secrets behind their conception."

"Their unnatural properties defy logical understanding." Bishop reasoned "We'd certainly benefit if We can comprehend the technical process of their development and manufacture."

"So, if We can know how to make them-!" Hicks realized

"We'll might know how to unmake them." Najenda finished "A means of countermeasure for any who would wield Imperial Arms against Us."

At Hicks' insistence, Bishop packed away what samples he was able to collect before returning the Imperial Arms to their respective users.

"A couple of cut strings, taken from Cross Tails." Bishop hands Cross Tails' gloves and spool back to Lubbock.

"Fur trimmings and nail clippings from Lionel's beast form." Bishop held up a jar holding long yellow hair and tips of a sharp claw."

"And aside from Susanoo, those were the only Imperial Arms I could collect material from." Bishop placed the sample vials in a storage tin, along with a jar full of red dust "But, I did manage to gather the remains of that Menacing Beast, after the Power Loader demolished its core."

Mine raised a bandaged hand "What about Seryu's remains?" Bishop locked the storage box, and set it aside, before answering "Ripley torched it. Then jettisoned the ashes. Same with the ice left by Esdeath. She said, and I quote ' _I don't want any trace of that fucking sadistic Harlot or her psychotic rabid Lapdog, aboard this Ship. Their existence is a perversion of the natural principles of human morality and its integrity. Much like the Aliens, it is a decent person's fundamental responsibility to exterminate abominations such as those two.'_ " No one deigned to argue Ripley's arbitrary decision, and held their piece.

Najenda shook her head and heaved a sigh. "So, there's nothing you can do with the rest of Our Imperial Arms?" Bishop placed Chelsea's Imperial Arm on an empty table, for the young woman to claim later. "Gaea Foundation's disguise prosthetics dematerialize when not in use. Same as with the cape fabric cut from Incursio's armor form, and I can't remove any armor plating without risking damage to the armor itself or Tatsumi within." He handed Incursio's sword form over to Tatsumi.

Bishop then held up Murasame "As for this one. I couldn't find any conventional means of extracting the poison this blade utilizes. So I had the last three Imperial Arms put in the spectrometer, x-ray and magnifier, to get a full reading on their thermographics, assembly schematic, and atomic composition." The Science Officer then handed Murasame back to Akame.

"The only one I haven't checked out yet was Pumpkin." Bishop indicated Mine's Imperial Arm leaning over on a nearby chair "But with Mine's permission, she's allowing me to borrow the barrel extensions." He presented Pumpkin's short and medium barrel, leaving the long barrel attached to the Imperial Arm.

"You're gonna have to put your analysis on hold." Hicks commanded sternly "We have so much else to work on."

Hicks unslung the case he was carrying, and zipped it open "This is for you, Tatsumi." He parted the fold of the case, and revealed a large black Shotgun with long rib-shrouded receiver, and a charging bolt over the breech ejection port. Tatsumi was in awe, as he took the weapon in his hands, and felt along its robust features.

"What kind of gun is this?" Tatsumi asked. Hicks' grin returned, as he eagerly began to explain "Tactical Shotgun, a semi-automatic Shotgun which fires faster and more accurately than the Combat Shotgun." The Corporal reached over to indicate the Tactical Shotgun's retractable bolt "Some principles remain the same. You load the shells as you traditionally would…" he then pulled back on the bolt, to reveal the breech "And you pull back on this here slide…" _Sn-chk!_ He released the bolt, and it sprung forward into place "Now you can pepper some targets with the business end, without having to work a pump."

Tatsumi was perplexed "No need to cock it? I can just continue to pull the trigger?" Hicks nodded "Until you need to reload. Then you just pull back on the charging bolt to engage the first round. Its slide is gas powered, so it automatically ejects the spent shell and load a new one in one smooth action."

"It's heavy." Tatsumi remarked, after hoisting the Tactical Shotgun up to his shoulder to sight it. "That's because I added a longer barrel, for a tighter spread. The shots won't be as wide as before, but you'll have better range and a harder punch to each shot you take. With the strength of Incursio, I figured you wouldn't be hampered by recoil, so you should be able to keep up with fast targets like that Rakshasa Demon you put down."

The newest member of Night Raid smiled appreciatively, then put away the weapon in its case. "Thanks a bunch, Hicks. You sure don't waste any chances to improve Our weapon loadouts."

"Says you, Tatsumi." Mine pouted "You get the neat stuff, while I get stuck with the hand-me downs." Hicks rolled his eyes, and threw a gurney pillow at her head "You're one to talk, you little shithead. You should be kissing my ass, for letting you use Vasquez's Smartgun. Be thankful, she had the harness tailored to her short stature, so it managed to fit you well enough."

Mine grew red in the face, and awkwardly lobbed the pillow back with her bandaged hands. It missed Hicks altogether, and hit an individual standing at the doorway to the room.

"Who's throwing shit?" Hudson croaked groggily, as he shuffled through the doorway. Hicks immediately walked over to him and budded heads.

"It's damn good to see you." The Corporal told the ComTech "When the Bugs took you, Ripley and I assumed the worse. I'm sorry." Hudson weakly clapped his fellow Marine on the shoulder "It was the same for me. When the Jaegers got your number, I did what I could to stop them."

All the members of Night Raid present watched silently, as the two Colonial Marines reveled in their reunion. Hudson then looked around and took a gander at Bishop and the strangers around him.

The ComTech gave Hicks and inquiring look. "Your face…" Hudson pointed at the acid burns Hicks had received prior to making it to the Landing Pad with Ripley. The Corporal sighed about his afflicted scars "It happened right after Newt was separated from us, and captured by the Aliens. Before we made it to the Dropship and Ripley's brave attempt to rescue her. We had only seconds before the Processing Station was gonna blow, but somehow everything got sent to this World, Colony and All."

Hudson calmly nodded, as he mulled over this piece of information. Then he check the other people around him, and asked "Gorman and Vasquez?" Hicks shook his head in sorrow "They didn't make it..." The Corporal took out a clutch of dogtags from his pocket. He then presented them to Hudson.

"Fuck, man." Hudson took the tags in disbelief, and began counting off the names on each "Dietrich, Crowe, Sarge…even Spunkmeyer and Ferro." He handed the bundle back to Hicks "You've managed to dig up all what was left of them?" Hicks corrected him "Not me." he jabbed his thumb towards the people standing behind him "They did."

Hudson took a close look at Najenda, Tatsumi, and Susanoo. "You must be Night Raid. I've heard about you, while I was with the Jaegers."

Tatsumi and Najenda gave each other a curious look. "How much do you know about Us?" Night Raid's leader asked.

"Enough to know you're trying to fix this fucked up world" Hudson bluntly put it "And that Esdeath and her Jaegers want you all dead or worse, to stop that from happening. I know that Hicks wouldn't have ditch that Bitch, to sided with you if ya'll weren't the good guys. I saw first hand, what bad news Esdeath and Seryu can be."

"That's why I blew them out of the goddamned airlock." Ripley came up from behind the ComTech "Hudson's clean. The bioscans haven't picked up any foreign tissue." A sense of relief began to spread through all individuals present.

"That's good to hear!" Tatsumi smiled brightly. Hudson frowned and rubbed at his temples "One hell of a hangover, by the way."

The green eyed fighter walked up to Hudson, and offered his hand to the ComTech "The name's Tatsumi. I'm one of Night Raid's newest member." Hudson took hold of Tatsumi's hand, and made an odd gesture with it. "You pop n' lock it, like this. See? That's how an Ultimate Badass greets his peers."

Tatsumi grinned wider at Hudson's compliment. Next to greet the ComTech, was Akame. But, before the red eyed assassin could introduced herself, Hudson spoke first "I know who you are. Your sister, Kurome told me all about you." Akame was taken aback by this revelation "You talked with her? What else did she say?" Hudson made a scowl, and briefly recounted his conversion with the teenage Jaeger.

"So, Yatsufusa is no more." Akame surmised "And now, she's using a different Imperial Arm. Muramasa." She recalled the abilities it granted to her Younger Sister, during their confrontation at the Battle of Hadley's Hope. "Reminds me of another sword, someone I knew once wielded. But it seems Muramasa doesn't have the same drawbacks, since it's an Imperial Arm."

"Drawbacks or not, that girl's got issues." Hudson stated. Akame grew defensive "That's not who she truly is. It's all the drugs and brainwashing, the Empire put her through. I know she's a decent person at heart." She clenched her fist tight with helpless frustration "We just need to get her some help, in a way that can restore her mind and body."

Ripley stepped forward and laid a hand on Akame's shoulder "We will get her the help she needs." She then turned her gaze expectantly at Bishop. The Science Officer stood up and paced a bit "These facilities are the latest in technology for medical treatment, but I can't make any guarantees, they'll be sufficient in treating Kurome's condition-"

"You're not helping." Hicks placed an arm in front of Bishop, and cut him off "I don't care what the chances are. You're going to try, regardless." Bishop stared at the Corporal for a moment, and quietly nodded.

"Looks like there's no backing out for you, Bishop." Hudson began to chide. Until Hicks turned to address the ComTech "Same goes for you, good-buddy. It's all hands on deck, at this point. So I'm sorry to say, but you're gonna have suit up, and begin pulling your weight around here."

Hudson hushed himself up, and sobered. "What can I do?" he asked diligently. Hicks began counted off items in his head "Parts of the Ship needs repairing. We'll also need to reload ordinances on the Dropship. There needs to be an inventory done for all Our available weapons and ammunition. And finally…" he indicated Najenda and Mine "I want you to take those two done to the vault later, for weapons refitting."

The ComTech winced at hearing the Corporal's instructions "You really want me to bring out all the goods from their shelves? You know as well as I do, none of that stuff's ever been used." Hicks was undeterred "Everything 's been rated for field-testing, right? We'll fine-tune what We can, and iron out the bugs later. Right now, We need every last piece of hardware brought to bear on this operation."

Ripley began to concur "We can't afford to leave anything to chance. Besides…" she nodded towards Najenda "We had an agreement."

Taking queue from Ripley, Night Raid's leader introduced herself "My name's Najenda. I'm the Commander of Night Raid."

Hudson indicated the mechanical prosthetic "What happened to your arm?"

"What's it look like?" Mine lauded facetiously "Esdeath shattered it with her ice powers, when Boss tried to defect from the Empire."

Hudson snapped back at her "Aside from that. You Dumb-Ass." Mine was furious "Who're calling a Dumb-Ass!?"

"If the shoe fits, then wear it." The ComTech shot back "May be too soon though, with what you just volunteered for. Probably gonna blow off that cute pink hair of yours, in the likelihood that you screw-up." Not wanting to take the insults lying down, Mine got out of bed and drew herself up proudly "A Genius Sniper like myself, can handle anything you throw at me." She then hopped from one bare foot, to the other "This floor is freezing!" Hudson began to gloat "What you want me to do? Fetch your slippers for you?"

Mine sat back on her bed and retorted "Gee, would you? I'd like that." In a sarcastic gesture, Hudson placed a finger on his cheek, and pulled down "Look into my eye…"

"Making friends are we, Mine?" a young man's voice called out, and all eyes in the room turned to see Lubbock enter with Chelsea and Leone following behind.

"So, this is where you gone off to, Akame." Leone had her hands on her hips, in annoyance "You've said you'd ask Hicks on how to get the food out of the dispensers." She then felt a hand hit her upside the head, by Najenda. "And I told you four to sit down at the Mess Hall, and wait for the rest of us to be finished here at Medical." Night Raid's leader scolded. In between the two women, Chelsea asserted herself "Ma'am. Neither one of Us has had a decent meal these past few days. So we're all completely exhausted and famished."

Hicks got Everyone's attention, and spoke commandingly "I know you're all in strung-out shape, but keep it together for at least a few minutes." He turned to Ripley "Can you take them back to Mess, and fix them something to hold them over? The rest of us will be down there shortly."

Ripley nodded before gathering Newt, and setting off towards the Mess Hall "C'mon you guys. Let me give you a taste of a spacefarer's fine-dining."

 **City Marketplace, Capitol of the Empire**

Outside near a snack parlor, the last few remaining Jaegers were trying to take their minds off the many worries which plagued them, after falling back to the Capitol. With their defeat at the hands of Night Raid and the Colonial Marines, plus the loss of Seryu and even their leader General Esdeath, it's only a matter of time before trouble catches up to them. They're outlook had become bleak, indeed.

Wave sipped at his tea, whilst surveying the surrounding marketplace. Citizens were walking about hustling to complete their shopping, or peddle their wares. No one showed any sign of dread or fear from the impending threat from outside their country's borders. ("Is nobody aware of what's coming for Us outside these walls?") he wondered, in awe at how harmonious the populace seems. But in the back of his mind came an undeniable sense of foreboding anticipation ("How long, until this peace and tranquility is shattered? What will be the first to bring upheaval? The Revolutionary Army with their foreign allies, the Western Nations? The Colonial Marines with their spaceship? Or will it be the Aliens looking to destroy them all? There are enemies in every direction, soon to be at Our very gates, yet everyone here miraculously remain blissfully ignorant.") How Wave envied them.

"The Imperial Capitol still seems peaceful." Wave commented, not wanting his evident stress to pass onto his Teammate. Across the small table from him, Kurome sat in her chair, looking depressed "Yeah…" The sailor Jaeger glanced directly at the teenager. He had no doubts as to why his Comrade felt so down, but he has get her out of this rut. It won't help the Jaegers any, if each of them sinks into despair.

"Come on, Kurome." Waved started "How long are you stay depressed?"

"But…" Kurome spoke in such a sorrowful tone, that near broke the sailor's heart "We came so close to achieving our objectives. We had everything in the palm of Our hands, all there for the taking. But it all came apart, no matter what We did." A lone tear slipped down Kurome's porcelain face "More of Our friends have died, and just like before, I was useless in stopping it from happening."

Wave endured the pang of loss, as he took another look at his surroundings. It was a safe assumption, that their defeat at the Battle of Hadley's Hope is being kept closely under wraps, and with good reason. If the word ever got out, that their mightiest General perished at the hands of otherworldly fighters, that aside from the rebels and foreign nations, there's an Alien plague looking to consume them all, and that their own military is now virtually powerless to stop them, pandemonium would ensue. Riots and social anarchy would erupt throughout the land. The Empire would then implode from mass panic, and Chaos will reign. Only level-headed thinking and rational action can help maintain this current peace. That is the only service left for the Jaegers to perform. Until the fighting actually starts, the their only remaining duty, is to keep what peace remains behind the Capitol's walls.

"It's true, that We failed in Our mission." Wave admitted, silently thanking good fortune that he and his teammates weren't being punished for repeated mission failures, only because the higher-ups were too busy figuring out how to deal with the inevitable battles rapidly approaching their doorstep. "That's why it's all the more important, that We stay vigilant in protecting the Capitol, while Our leaders address the coming invasion."

The teenage Jaeger was still looking glum as she pondered the sailor's words, so Wave hurriedly shoved a small plate in front of her "Here." Wave placed a fork beside the dish "I'll give you my cake, too."

Kurome stared at the enticing dessert for a moment, before a small blush and a smile appeared on her face "Your right." She picked up the small fork, and reached for the cake "If you can manage to stay positive and focused, after taking the most beatings by Our Enemies. Then I shouldn't let up on my efforts, either."

Wave was shaken internally at being reminded of what he went through, at the receiving end of Colonial Marine weaponry. For all intents and purposes, the sailor Jaeger knew he got off lucky with just a few bruises. If that woman, Lieutenant Ripley, and her friend Corporal Hicks have been so inclined, they would have seen everyone down at Hadley's Hope dead and reduced to a large smoking crater. But, that wasn't the case. The Colonial Marines weren't barbaric. They valued human life, and the lives of their allies from Night Raid, forcing them to be more considerate in taking a precise action towards their battle strategy, rather than just raze everything around and be done with it. The sailor Jaeger turned his head upward, to look at the sky.

"They're showing restraint." Wave surmised "They've no interest in Our nation's conflicts. They just want the Aliens exterminated, and will only bring devastation to anyone who interferes." The sailor Jaeger stared up at the sky, with a slight sense of dread, and he wondered what the Colonial Marines intend to do after dealing with the Alien threat. "Probably come straight here to the Capitol, to finish what We had started with them." he muttered to himself, trying hard not to picture the Sulaco looming high above those clouds, standing by to reduce the Empire into smoldering rubble, at the slightest inclination of its crew "I wonder if arranging a truce with them is out of the question, by now. Hicks seemed like he was still willing to negotiate."

Wave glanced over at the Imperial Palace, with uncertainty "Could this be what the government is counting on? Are they looking for an angle, in which to reach an understanding with these otherworldly militants?" He shook his head, as his mind grew weary from all this thinking. Politics and Diplomacy has never been Wave's strong suit. That much required a more learned individual, to comprehend.

"Speaking of which…" Wave cast his gaze at the opposite side of the street, and saw Run standing behind a large crowd of onlookers who were watching a man in a costume juggling and performing tricks. The crowd was laughing and cheering with delight, but Run was the only one who remained quiet.

"What is it, Run?" Wave called out, as he crossed the street towards the General's Aide "You interested in street performers?-" Wave was suddenly taken aback by the overwhelming sense of Killing Intent. With a quick look around, the sailor realized that all this bloodlust was stemming from the young man in front of him. Run just stood there, his golden eyes staring intently at the street performer, his gaze never wavering.

"Hey, Run!" Wave called out in a serious tone. Run then finally snapped his gaze away, to meet his Comrade approaching him "Wave…"

"You look pissed. Did something happen?" Wave asked with growing concern. Run's expression immediately became calm and reassuring. "No." he answered "It's nothing…" he started to make his way back to their table "Was there something you wanted to ask of me?" The sailor Jaeger held his voice, before speaking "What do you think is going to happen to Us, in the days ahead?"

Run furrowed his brow, as he pondered the question for a brief moment "I assume, the Jaegers will be disbanded then reassigned to different tasks accordingly." Wave was devastated to hear Run's blunt answer. To help his Comrade see reason, Run began to explain "Our team was assembled with the primary goal of eliminating Night Raid and all who aid them. Not only did we tried and failed at that, but We lost more than half Our number in the attempt, including Our Commander." The General's Aide waited a minute for Wave to absorb the facts.

Once Run had Wave's attention, he continued "I know the reality of it is disheartening, but what matters is what those of Us who remain can still do, in service of the Empire." A gaggle of young women stepped in front of Run and Wave's path. When they saw to two Jaegers yielding passage, the group of ladies giggled and waved in salutations as they departed. Run made a smile and waved back, and Wave awkwardly followed suit.

"It's seems, the events of Our recent excursion is being well covered up." Run stated "As long as recent events remain classified, Our Nation's Leaders will be hard-pressed to do anything drastic with Our team." Wave fidgeted uncomfortably at his Teammate's logic, but then listened closely as he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder "Calm yourself, Wave. You're too young to succumb to anxiety. As long as We keep Our heads clear, a solution will present itself eventually."

 **Imperial Palace, Capitol of the Empire**

Honest sat in a small chair that miraculously didn't collapse under so much weight, while dining on the various dishes laid out before him on a table. "My, my. Fixing so many problems really makes one gain weight from all the stress." Lounging across from the Prime Minister, on the other side of the table, was the same young man with an X-shaped scar on his face, whom Honest conferred with before seeing the captured Alien for the first time.

"Ha! He-he-he!" snickered the young man "It's because you eat too much Pops." Honest ignored his Son's jeers, and continued to scarf down a foreign delicacy "It's because your souvenirs are so delicious."

As the Prime Minister ate the final pieces of foreign cuisine, he changed the subject of conversation "I've wanted to let my beloved child travel and study abroad. So I let you go outside the Empire. And You've come back more impressive than ever. You've made me very proud, Syura."

The Prime Minister's Son grinned in accomplishment "I've seen many interesting things around the world." He then spoke in an informal tone "From, what I've gathered, the Empire is still the most developed nation by far." Syura gazed out a window, while counting off some items in his mind "The Northern tundra, and the Southern wilderness are so rural, their local tribes don't even have firearms. Same with the fishing villages along the eastern shores."

Honest put down his eating utensils, and began wiping his mouth with a cloth "So, the only ones who can match the Empire in military sophistication, is the Western Nations?" Syura nodded "Yes. They have access to some pretty unique cultures, like alchemy." The Prime Minister paused for a moment, as he pondered Dorothea's western proficiency with all of those near-occult concepts for advanced fields of science kept in the deceased Dr. Stylish's makeshift laboratory. And judging by the seemingly young woman's strength and dexterity against a Xenomorph, she may have undergone body modifications not unlike what Stylish did to his own test subjects.

Sensing what his father might be thinking about, Syura continued to speak "As you might've noticed earlier, I've finished that little assignment, you've given me while I was out there."

Honest rubbed his flabby chin "So far, you've brought me one of the most top-minded individuals I've ever seen. But are the others any better?"

Syura smirked "Well, these people I've gathered are some of the most exceptional fighters in the world. You've seen how capable Dorothea is, when you met her. There's also Izou, a swordsman from the far east beyond the sea, who cherished his sword more than life itself, and will cause a bloodbath from his enemies with it. Then there's Cosmina, a singer from the Western Nations, who is currently wanted on suspicion of witchcraft. Next is Enshin, a pirate who scourged the islands in the southern seas. And lastly, we have Champ, a serial-killer entertainer." The Prime Minister's Son grew more smug "I've also gone through the trouble, ensure that each of them were carrying Imperial Arms scattered outside the Empire.

Honest made a sigh of disdain "You said this group has world-class talent and skills? All I see, are more of the same as before. People wielding Imperial Arms. What exactly sets them apart from what I already have?"

Syura became perturbed "If you still doubt my team's abilities, perhaps we'll do a little demonstration? Maybe we should take care of that guy, Seigi who's been bothering you recently. I heard your own Rakshasa Demons have disappeared and are presumed dead, then there're those Jaegers you were so proud of who'd been handed a most brutal defeat alongside a vast majority of the Imperial Army. Looks to me, the people you have on hand can't seem to get things done."

Honest scowled. If things didn't turn out like they did in the past few days, he wouldn't have been loathed to dismiss Syura's claim. "The Jaegers had caused me almost more problems than Night Raid. And the Rakshasa Demons failed to protect one of my most reliable spy. Night Raid's new allies, these Colonial Marines aren't to be trifled with." Honest muttered in admittance "But, I guess that's to be expected from a bunch of glorified attack-dogs. There's not a single thinking head among them, otherwise I wouldn't be suffering from all of the stress and headaches."

"I'm surprised, you hadn't executed the remaining Jaegers, for their incompetence." Syura commented insidiously "Would you like for my team to handle them discreetly?"

The Prime Minister held up a fat hand, to silence him "There's no time for killing people. We have too much else to do in such short order." He then turned to a small drawer next to him, and brought out a dossier full of paper documents inside "If you want to prove your team as superior to what I already have, then finish what the Jaegers couldn't. If you succeed were the they have miserably failed, by retrieving anything useful from this location, or by eliminating Night Raid, then that would be proof enough."

Honest handed the dossier over to his son, while maintaining a dark scowl "Like I told you before, Time is everything now, and We don't have much of It. So, don't waste even a second fooling around, and make sure you're fully prepared for anything out there. Now get going…"

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Outer Space**

Lubbock stared at the beige glob of congealed substance which sat on his plate, accompanied by a similar substance that had an amber color and a grainy texture. "Any idea, what this used to be?" he mockingly asked. Leone took a spoon, and scooped up some of the strange substance from her own plate, then sniffed it "It don't smell raw or undercooked." she sniffed the other portion "Nor rotten, for that matter." Running out of patience, Chelsea blurted out "So, what is it?"

"It's breakfast, you Nitwits." Ripley clarified "That there, is oatmeal and applesauce…" she then placed a large platter of pale squares with yellowed brown in the middle "With a side of toast." The trio that were addressed by the Lieutenant did hold off on voicing their displeasure.

"Yeah right." sneered Lubbock

"Quit joking." grumbled Leone.

"Where's the real food?" Chelsea called out.

"Where's the rest of it?" Akame spoke up from her seat at the table. The plate in front of her had already been emptied, and she was reaching over to grab the toast. "And what about proteins?" she complained "Where are the meats?"

Ripley walked back to the food dispenser "It seems the eggs needed to be prepared by another machine. I'll have to ask Hicks, Bishop, or Hudson, about which one to use and how to use it."

Akame grew more agitated, as she bit down on a slice of toast. Everything she's eaten aboard the Sulaco, was heavily processed, and had a rather bland taste.

Even Susanoo was put off by the quality of the food "As much as I appreciate the efficiency, by which the sustenance here is prepared and consumed, It just won't do if no one finds it appealing."

Suddenly, a voice rang throughout Mess Hall, causing Everyone aside form Ripley to jump _**"If that is how you sincerely felt, Mr. Susanoo, I can unshutter the old galley, and take out the old cookware from storage, to enable your culinary inclinations."**_

"How does he know what We're talking about, when he's supposed to be somewhere else?" Lubbock asked. Ripley smirked at the surprised expression, each the five members of Night Raid had donned, then indicated the small surveillance camera in the far corner of the room's ceiling.

"That's mighty swell of you to offer, Bishop." Ripley spoke up at the intercom speakers "But perhaps, you should come down here in person, and informed them yourself, instead of using the PA system."

After a brief pause, Bishop responded " _ **I'm afraid I'm still currently indisposed at the moment. The computer analysis of the Derelict coordinates has just been completed, but there are some issues. Could Everyone please come see me at the Bridge?"**_

Ripley, Newt, and the members of Night Raid set down their food trays, and made for the elevator, post-haste.

"What about the Boss, and Mine?" Lubbock called out, as he set toward the corridor hatch.

" _ **I've already called on young Tatsumi, to inform Hicks and the others down in the Armory."**_ explained Bishop _ **"Though I may have startled him, while he was making his way back to Mess from the Privy. He jumped so high, it appeared he collided with a ceiling conduit. And his belt hadn't been buckled securely, so..."**_

Lubbock and Leone snickered and guffawed, while Chelsea shook her head and facepalmed "I'm sure that blockhead isn't hurt too bad. But his dignity's gonna take a nosedive."

Down near the Armory, there's a section sealed off by restrictive doors that opened when only someone had entered a proper code into their nearby keypad. The area beyond is known as the Vault, a specialized containment area which held the USCM unconventional equipment and experimental weapons.

Here, Najenda and Mine were being outfitted with advanced prototypes developed by both Armat Battlefield Systems, and Welyand-Yutani.

On a nearby workbench, Hudson was busily adjusting a few gears and bolts on Najenda's shoulder coupler. "This is some fine workmanship." the ComTech complimented "And here, I thought your planet had barely tier 2 technology. But this could easily be considered tier 3. If it hadn't been for this kind of junction port, We would've needed a team of surgeons and technicians to surgically implant a separate mechanism altogether." Najenda shuddered inwardly at the prospect of being put under while a bunch of strangers would experiment on her unconscious self. But she sat at ease, upon hearing the ComTech's comment.

"In this world, the innovative endeavors yielded sporadic rates of development. Many fields of study have yet to be fully compiled. Mostly because, those who made significant breakthroughs or discoveries, usually hoard their knowledge and research." affirmed Night Raid's leader "So, you're saying the socket to my prosthetic arm is compatible with your modern equipment? What is it exactly, do you got in mind?" Hudson reached over to a locker next to them, and pulled out a large metal construct vaguely resembling a human arm that hung from a sturdy rack. "I'm thinking, it's time you had an upgrade" Hudson grinned excitedly.

The ComTech then worked on fitting the gear into position, before plugging cables and wires into their corresponding sockets and input jacks. The Marine finally started locking down clasps and joints together, using sophisticated tools and wrenches.

"Alright, coupling's finished." Hudson spoke up, as he removed a set of working goggles from his brow. He had just spent the past half-hour installing the entire assembly onto Najenda's right shoulder "See if you can move it now."

Najenda closed her eyes, and concentrated. The new cybernetic arm was a weaponized prosthetic, similar to her old mechanical one. It had a set of offensive options including a pile-banker, a Smartgun cannon, belt-fed by a corresponding backpack, and maneuvering thrusters. Like the common Smartgun rigs the prototype was based off of, it's intended use was to transform a one-armed paraplegic, into a heavily armed mobility weapons platform.

 _Whrrrvv! Whrv!_ The hand portion began to move according to Najenda's will, and soon, so did the rest of the arm. "It works." Informed Night Raid's leader. Hudson nodded with satisfaction "The rig should operate in the same way as your old prosthetic. Same goes for the battering rod, the thruster, and of course the Smartgun. All will activate on your thoughts and reflexes." He then began reaching for Najenda's eyepatch "There's one more thing. If you please."

After gaining her permission to remove her eyepatch, The ComTech replaced it with a different patch that had a small camera module which fit inside Najenda's ocular cavity. "This is a solid-eye." Hudson explained "It's a tracking system, just like what the Smartgun uses. What you see, is what your weapon will see too, and will aim accordingly." Najenda panned her head around, and just like Hudson said, the Smartgun cannon barrel followed suit. "Pretty neat!" Najenda complimented.

"There's some drawbacks, though." Hudson warned "With the lack of a harness, the weapon won't fire as steadily and as accurately. Plus, without a shroud and heat sink to provide cooling, overheating is gonna be an issue. So only shoot in short controlled bursts. Capiche?"

With the rig's metal hand, Najenda gave the ComTech a thumbs up. "I appreciate the gear you've given me. Rest assured, I'll do my utmost to take care of it." Hudson gave her a stern look "You'd better. Cause it's the only one We've got. There won't be any replacements. And, it was through a logistical mistake, that We came by this one. It was meant to be sent to Earth, but wound up here by accident."

Najenda stared down at the prosthetic Smart Gun rig with uncertainty "I hope this weapon's intended owner won't be sorely needing it…"

 **San Drad, California, United States of America, Earth**

"Achoo!" a large burly man with blonde hair, and wearing tan military fatigues sneezed out loudly, before sniffling and rubbing his nose with his one remaining arm. Behind him, a woman in similar combat gear, and sporting a long brown ponytail, stepped up and saluted "Major Dutch Schaefer. Greetings and salutations. I am Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa, from HQ's cyborg division. I've been transferred to your post, to work as your aide and subordinate."

Schaefer glared at the recently arrived Lieutenant, and returned the salute with his lone arm "Good to see you, Lieutenant. But I don't recall requesting Headquarters to send me one of their pet cybernetic projects. Especially, a wet behind the ears newbie, who spent more time running simulations at headquarters, rather than actual combat in the field."

Linn Kurosawa was warned about the Major's jaded demeanor, by her superiors. Regardless, she had try to make an impression with the veteran soldier, else she'd never be taken seriously by him. "My cyber enhancements are top of the line, and I was at the head of my class, back in HQ." she declared boastfully "And, I'm in prime condition to face any engagement in the theater of battle." Then a smirk formed on Linn's face "Or, Perhaps the Higher-ups felt that my upstanding disposition could help offset your usual gung-ho inclinations."

Schaefer scowled darkly at Linn Kurosawa, and for an instant, the Lieutenant felt like she was under immediate threat. But the Lieutenant remained calm. The Major may be as strong as any other muscle-bound jarhead, but what danger can one man with a single arm be to a skillfully trained elite armed with a katana, and an automatic pistol.

With a low grunt, Schaefer looked away "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. Because you'll be figuring out real soon, how you've been assign to what is essentially babysitting duty. Why else would they dump a newbie like you into the largest city on the west coast, alongside an old grouch like me? This place is a bustling metropolis. Nothing happens out here, and whatever matters do arise, law enforcement are usually there to fix it, leaving grunts like you and me to sit on our hands and wither away."

Linn Kurosawa remained undaunted by this revelation. "It matters not to me. I follow the orders I've been given." She peered out a nearby window of the office they were in. Tall skyscrapers reached out in clusters along the city blocks. On the streets below, people walk drove along the streets, or walk along the sidewalks, to attend their daily businesses. A large park full of green trees took up a good center portion of the city proper, and near the city's outskirts, was the USCM regional base accompanied by the spaceport. The facility mentioned was a far cry in sophistication from the drab and shoddy barracks in which Major Dutch Schaefer's unit currently occupy. The discrepancy in personnel quarters were mostly thanks in no small part to the growing involvement of Weyland-Yutani with many eminent figures in the Colonial Marines' upper command. The base and spaceport at the outskirts of San Drad, are certain proof of that. Constructed by the mega-corporation itself, the facility is virtually Marine property by name only. As such, anyone who isn't on the company's payroll, are generally shunned aside and sent to low budget accommodations, so as not to cause any problems.

Schaefer made a condescending grin "If you find this assignment not to your taste, maybe you should get real friendly with those suits at Wey-Yu. I reckon, they got a few platoons in their pocket by now.

Linn felt insulted, so she turned up her nose with pride "I didn't join this chicken-shit outfit to get rich. I just want to make a difference in a society of rapid modernization." The Major's grin widened into a smile "We'll see if you're true to your word. In the meantime, go and get acquainted with the rest of our unit." He then flexed his one hand with anticipation "And if you meet a guy named Kevin, send him to me, so I can wring his neck for misplacing that specialized prosthetic arm that I've ordered from HQ's Requisitions Department. Dismissed."

Linn saluted once more, and strode off to meet with the rest of 13th Battalion. Back in the small room, Schaefer glared out the window facing the city, while idly feeling up the stump on his shoulder where his right arm used to be. He had a gut feeling, he was going to need to be back in fighting shape real soon. There's trouble brewing over at the pseudo military base owned by Weyland-Yutani, the Major can sense it. He slumped in a chair, and silently hoped that for once his instincts weren't right.

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Outer Space**

 _Beep-beep-beep-beep!_ Hicks punched in a code, to open up a large weapons locker on the side of a wall. Once the codes had been entered, the locker door folded open with an audible _Ping!_ The Corporal then reached inside, and brought out a large rifle. The gun itself had a long barrel with a wide bore, a large boxy scope bolted on top, and LED lights glowing along the side.

Mine's mouth unwittingly gaped open, as she stood entranced by newly displayed weapon.

Hicks gently laid the rifle on a maintenance rack "The latest in high-tech warfare, and the answer to Weyland-Yutani's 102 Compact Railgun. Developed by Armat Battlefield Systems, I give you the XM-99A Phase Plasma Pulse-Rifle." He toggled on a switch on the side of the gun, which made its LEDs light up brightly in high-pitched electrical whine.

Mine regained her composure, and haughtily made a cross expression "It looks pretty and all. But, what makes this gun any special than the ones I used before or Pumpkin for that matter?" Hicks frowned at seeing how the Genius Sniper didn't look wholly impressed. "What you've been using, was standard issue." he explained "This piece right here is state of the badass art, a cut above the rest. And I've seen what your Imperial Arm can do. It lacks penetration on armored targets, like Wave and that nifty black armor of his."

Mine glared at her Imperial Arm resting up against a chair on the side "Pumpkin can cut through enemies with hard protection. The right conditions just have to be met." Hicks also glanced at Pumpkin, with skepticism "That's not a way to fight. Marines ensure as little risk to themselves as possible, when in battle." Mine smirked in a smug fashion "I'm not a Marine."

"No, you're not." Najenda spoke up "But as a member of Night Raid, you're an assassin and an elite fighter, and should be as effective as such. You may be able to hold your own against the Aliens and Imperial Soldiers, but you have yet to down any of the Jaegers." Next to her, Hudson concurred "Those Jaegers are pretty tough hombres. I know full well, that they intend to come at any one of you Night Raid guys, with everything they got. And that's not putting it lightly, those punks aren't slouches either. Now that Ripley took out Esdeath and Seryu, the rest of them are gonna want bloody vengeance."

Hicks cradled the Plasma Rifle with both arms in contemplation "If Run, Wave, and Kurome are anything like their leader, and teammate, there's no doubt they won't go down quietly." he carefully switched on and adjusted the rifle's scope "So there's no half-assing on the firepower. If need be, We're gonna have to be able to drop them in one go." The Corporal handed Mine the Plasma Rifle for her to feel its weight.

"So this is the absolute best gun in your arsenal?" Mine asked. Hicks began reaching into the locker, and answered back "In terms of personal small-arms, yes. Hudson and I had to pull a hell of a lot of strings to get Acquisitions to send a model our way, before the Sulaco departed Gateway Station."

Mine was intrigued "So why wait until now, to test it?" Hicks found what he was looking for, and began to lift "We hadn't had an opportunity to try." The pink haired gunner recalled the firing range they passed in the Armory, on their way to the Vault "I somehow doubt that excuse."

Hudson grew irate, as he heard the criticism whilst his fellow Marine labored to pull something heavy out of the locker, so he tried to interject "That gun is based on directed energy weaponry, like our Particle Beam Phalanx. It's designed to blast straight through a starship's hull. We can't simply just shoot down the range, and expect the bulkheads to remain intact."

Mine rolled her eyes and shrugged "Isn't such firepower the norm, with you people?" A vein of anger and annoyance pulsed on Hudson's temple "What do you think this is? Some kind of Sci-Fi movie?" he muttered "You think we use ray guns and fighting robots, or build time machines in our modern era?"

With one final heave, the Corporal swung around and dropped a dark-colored box with a radiation hazard sticker posted to its side, onto a table. After stepping away while massaging his strained back, Hicks "Nope. We definitely don't have much convenience for things like this."

Hudson nodded affirmatively "This ain't like, um…Hicks, what was that movie, Crowe had on bootleg? The Elliminator? The Hunter-Killer?" The Corporal fidgeted "Nah. I think it's called, the Terminator."

"That's the one." confirmed Hudson "Can you imagine how things would be like in such a reality?" the other Marine idly scratched the burn scars on his cheek "I imagine, You and I wouldn't last very long in a crazy world like that."

Hicks then turned to calmly face Mine's scrutiny "It's like I told Akame, back in Kyoroch. Our technology and weapons made My team formidable, but not invincible. Our first trip out to Hadley's taught us that."

Hudson's voice broke out in discomfort, after recalling such a daunting experience "First, Frost. Then, Dietrich. Wierzbowski and Crowe, right after that. Even the Sarge. They fell like dominoes, one after the other, in a span of minutes. And that was at the start of it all. Nothing went our way afterwards, no matter what we did."

Najenda wasn't fazed by the ComTech's admission of inadequacy. She had been down that avenue of futility, ever since she defected from the Empire, and joined the rebels. But she understood very early, as long as one has the means to fight, one cannot give into despair. That's what Night Raid's leader wanted the ComTech to understand. "Don't sell yourself short." she reprimanded "I saw how Hicks and Ripley handled the Jaegers and Imperials. You guys are meant for this kind of world. Both to fight in it, and win."

"The Boss is right, Hudson." Agreed Mine "We've all been down that road before. Being too good and cocksure. Thinking there wasn't anything We can't handle. Until reality rears its ugly head, and tears you or your teammates apart." She paused, and remained quiet. Her thoughts drifting back to the person she lost. So Najenda to hold of the conversation again "That kind of hubris was the downfall of Esdeath. She toyed with the helplessness and inadequacies of so many others, that she failed to see the resolve and determination of lesser people as a true threat-"

"And in the end, she wound up sucking vacuum. Thanks to Ripley." finished Hicks "Now, We got her flunkies on the run and shittin' bricks inside that Capitol of theirs. Knowing full well, that We intend to finish the job. If the Alien don't get to them first." Mine frowned with gung-ho certainty "That's not gonna happen." The Corporal grinned at her "Damn right it isn't." he opened the box, to display small rows of peculiar-looking cylindrical object "We still got some goodies to show off."

Mine offered the gun back to Hicks, for further demonstrations. After taking back the Plasma Rifle, Hicks gently plucked out one of the small cylinders from its box "This rifle uses canisters of condensed photons. Once the trigger is pulled, the photons are channeled into an oscillator built inside the breech housing, then they are catalyzed and accelerated before providing a focused discharge through the lenses inside the barrel." He inserted one end of the cylinder into a round receptacle beneath the large barrel, then twisted it to lock into place _Shck!_

"A single shot takes a small amount of time to charge up, before firing. And these power cell are only good for 4 shots, then zilch." Hicks went on explaining, as he demonstrated the reload procedure. After unscrewing the Plasma Rifle's power cell, the Corporal gently placed it back in the box. "Be very careful, when handling this weapon and its ammo." the Corporal warned "If you get reckless and bang the rifle or a battery against any hard surface, you could risk rupturing the casing." Mine nearly hesitated, when offered the weapon again. She then decided to ask "What would result, if that were to happen?" Hicks held up a balled fist, then in a grim gesture, splayed open his fingers to reveal his palm "A very violent detonation, that could leave a small smoking crater wherever you're standing. There wouldn't be anything left of you, to scrape into a bucket."

The pink haired gunner swallowed nervously, but steeled her nerves shortly after. If Night Raid were to face whatever lies ahead, Mine will need a weapon of overwhelming power, in order to help her Comrades. Besides, she shown great affinity for the other firearms in the Colonial Marines' arsenal. Enough for Hicks to entrust her with such a dangerous piece.

"It'll be alright, Mine." Hudson called out reassuringly "Since the Corps' inception, not one of our weapons manufactured for us has ever proven defective. Take care of that gun, and it will most definitely take care of you." Mine smiled at the ComTech's assurance, then hefted the Plasma Rifle to check its scope.

"The sights on this scope resemble the Smartgun's." Mine commented inquisitively "Same technology?" Hicks nodded "That's right. The scope will mark a target, and all you'll need to do is set it in your crosshairs then shoot. The scope's accurate to about 100 kilometers, and there's no recoil either, so there shouldn't be any margin for misfire." The Marine then made a sly grin "If you can't hit anything despite all that, I'll bust a cap in your ass myself."

Mine smirked at Hicks' banter "Don't do me any favors."

Suddenly, the door to the Armory retracted open, and Tatsumi appeared. The young man was constantly rubbing a large lump at the top of his head, his face wincing in pain everytime he touched it. He then began checking on his belt buckle, making sure it wouldn't come undone at the hardest jerk and tug, until Najenda coaxed him out of his stupor "Something you want to share with Us, Tatsumi?" Her newest member snapped to attention, then announced "Bishop's finished analyzing the data We've brought back from Hadley's Hope. He says, he wants Everyone assembled at the Bridge, to see the results."

"Appreciated." thanked Hicks "We'll be up there in a minute." Tatsumi nodded, and ventured back into the corridor leading to the elevator. All four occupants in the Vault began packing up their gear. Najenda placed her old mechanical hand inside a bag, and slung it over her shoulder. Hudson placed all of his tools and parts back in their drawers and racks. Mine carefully stuffed as many Power Cells in a pouch as she dared, making sure she lined the interior with a rag to provide extra cushioning. Hicks closed and locked the Vault door, before proceeding behind his companions through the Armory.

 **Wild Hunt Headquarters, Capitol of the Empire**

Syura stood leaning against a support pillar, at the front of his new team's recently constructed headquarters near the Palace Grounds. It had been 15 minutes since he sent for his team to assemble at his location. So far, much to Syura's annoyance and growing impatience, no one had shown up yet.

"What the hell, Syura?" growled a thoroughly vexed Enshin, upon exiting the building with Cosmina and Champ following closely behind "You said there'll be plenty if fun things to do, here in the Capitol."

Syura shrugged and smirked "There will be." He then held up Shambala at the ready "First, we gotta handle a little errand for the Old Man." Enshin cocked his head aside in irritation _"Tch!..."_ On the other hand, Cosmina cheered "Hey! Let's not knock it, til We try it. After all, this errand might have some excitement."

In response, another voice sounded from the side "I care not what task, We have to carry out. As long as I get to feed Kousetsu." Everyone shifted their attention to Izou's arrival with Dorothea trotting ahead of him.

"We've all gathered, it seems." Dorothea grinned "Good. Now We can proceed to Hadley's Hope, without delay." Enshin faced Syura, and cocked an eyebrow.

"It's a ruin of some kind, out in the Southern wilderness." Syura explained "Pops and Dorothea believes there's some crucial items and materials, that needs to be retrieved from that place. Our team, Wild Hunt's orders as a secret police, are to go and get whatever's laying there. And kill anyone or anything that might still be around." Most of his Companions voiced their disapproval.

"Bah!" snarled Enshin "I didn't come all this way to the Capitol, to play errand-boy or a retrieval hound." Behind him, Champ muttered in agreement "Me neither. I came because Syura convinced me that We'll have this whole Empire as Our own personal playground."

To Everyone's surprise, it was Dorothea who spoke up "Why settle for a measly Empire, when I can offer you the entire World?" Enshin immediately scoffed "Get real. Even with Imperial Arms, a small group like Us can't simply take over the entire world." Cosmina then followed up "He's right. There's absolutely no way We can have the whole world all to ourselves. It's much too big."

Dorothea was not dissuaded "There is a Way. It's waiting for Us, down South at that Colony." Syura stepped in, and asked "How can you be so certain?" The foreign Alchemist went on to explain "Despite your misgivings about the Jaegers' reliability, one of their members isn't completely foolish. He wrote a detailed report, which told me every bit of important information pertaining to that place, where it came from, what had happened there, and what We stand to gain if We can salvage what's left."

The seemingly young woman pointed in the southern direction, with conviction "I promise you all. If We successfully pull this off. There won't be anyone in this world or any other, that can stand against Us."

Cosmina's eyes glittered with excitement.

Enshin then shrugged with indifference "Well, if it turns out you're lying, I can always kill you, then go do something else."

Izou remained passively silent.

Champ heaved a sigh, and decided not to pose anymore disagreements "Well, what are We waiting for? Let's get this over with." Dorothea held up an obstructing hand in front of him "Not you, Champ. You're staying here." Champ was on the verge of raging out "What are you talking about!?"

"There's something that needs to be done here, that only you and your Imperial Arm can accomplish." Dorothea explained "I need you to out back behind this building, and dig a ten-story hole in the grounds. Make it half a kilometer across, as well."

Champ squatted on the ground, and crossed his arms in stubbornness "Like hell, I will."

Dorothea persisted "We need you to do this, or the plan won't succeed." Beside her, Cosmina and Enshin appealed on the Alchemist's behalf. "C'mon Champy!" Cosmina pleaded "Cosmina will be sure to reward you, when We get back." Champ grumbled in reply "You're not my type." Then Enshin stood over him condescendingly "Pick your poison, Champ. Come with Us on this mundane job. Or stay here in the comfort of the Capitol."

After a moment of thought, Champ finally got back on his feet "Bunch of ass-kissers. Fine, I'll get that hole dug." He held up a black round sphere "With this Rot Orb, it shouldn't take much of an effort anyways."

Syura made a yawn of boredom "Are We all set? It's about time we head out."

With the exception of Champ, the other members of Wild Hunt encircled Syura, and waited for him to activate his Imperial Arm. "Here We go." and in a bright flash of light, the group had vanished, leaving an intricate marking on the ground.

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Outer Space**

Everyone aboard the Sulaco were gathered at the Bridge, and stood around a large kiosk with an inlaid viewscreen. The screen itself was displaying a top-down mapping image of the entire region surrounding the Imperial Capitol. Towards the south, marked by a bright green dot, was Hadley's Hope.

Bishop stood at the control panel which allows him to interface with the map "This is the Colony's location in relation to the layout of the entire region." He pressed a button, and the image centered on the valley in which the Colony sat. "And here's the projected result, that the computer had calculated." With another press of a button, the image was joined by a pair of red lines which snaked away from the site of Hadley's Hope, and into contrasting directions away from one another.

By the time the red indicators reached the end of their projected destinations, their ends lay a significant distance from their point of origin.

"Can someone tell me, why there are two paths in opposite directions, that's supposed to lead to the 'one' object we're searching for?" Chelsea asked in complete disbelief. Bishop had already begun to explain "I'm afraid, this is best result, the computer can provide with the available data. Because We have no way of determining the celestial alignment both LV-426 and this planet have in relation to one another"

"So much for your advanced technology." Leone chided "It couldn't even promptly tell Us the Derelict's exact location, Assuming that it's even here in this World."

Ripley rolled her eyes "You think our technology makes Us omnipotent? You couldn't have been more mistaken. Things aren't like in that old space war movie, where they had planet destroying space stations or laser swords." She gestured at Bishop, who flipped a switch on the control panel. The mapping table then made a steady hum, as it produced a few sheets of paper with a perfect render of the map image copied onto each page.

"This is reality." Ripley continued "We still use conventional means to perform most of our normal tasks. Our technology may be advanced, but it's not without its shortcomings. We still have to make due with what We got. We just happened to live by higher standards than you."

Hicks' brow furrowed, as he studied the map. One path led East and North, while the other led West and South. "So the search is narrowed down to two choices." He looked over at a separate computer monitor, and studied its technical readout "It's not hard to check either spots, all things considered. But we have too much to take care of, and sorely lack the time to do it."

"There will be time." Najenda assured, while picking up a copy sheet of the map "Because Night Raid will search both locations, for the Derelict."

Lubbock, Leone, and Chelsea looked at their leader in surprise, while Akame, Tatsumi, Mine glared at Najenda witb resolve. Susanoo had already taken the other maps, and was currently folding them in perfect symmetry.

Before either Ripley or Hicks could deign to argue, Night Raid's leader held up her cybernetic hand "You've done enough in these past couple of days, that me and my team could only achieve in a lifetime. It's time We pick up the slack, and hold Our own."

Bishop held up a hand, to get Everyone's attention "If I may, I'd totally agree with Commander Najenda." After inputting several technical commands, the map image had split in two, and were now magnified to zoom in at the end of each path respectively. "According to local geography," the Synthetic Android pointed out "one area sits in a jungle, while the other is in a swamp." He pressed the same switch which printed out more copies of the magnified areas "None of us who are not from this planet, had any real experience with the local flora and fauna that exists down there. Only Night Raid retains that qualifying distinction, which makes them better suited for this task."

After a moment of deliberation, both Ripley and Hicks conceded. Ripley then spoke with a sigh "So, we'll drop off Night Raid at each location, to begin their search."

"There's another complication." Akame announced "After the fight with the Jaegers and Imperial Army, the Empire will have definitely set more eyes in watching the skies, to track Our movements. The search by Dropship risks attracting too much unwanted attention from the Enemy."

"So, we'll not go by air." Tatsumi declared "Instead, we'll go by land, under the cover of variable terrain and landscape." Lubbock tired to disprove that idea "But if we're not flying, then Our journey will take a considerable amount of time."

Hicks and Ripley shared a smirk "We have something that can remedy that." the Lieutenant offered "But it requires someone with good reflexes and dexterity, to operate it." The Corporal then added "We only need two, and they need to be savvy enough to be understand minimal instruction."

Mine fidgeted "So how do We determine who has the best qualifications?"

With a mischievous grin, Hudson raised a hand "Who here knows how to do this 'thing' with a knife?"

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

The light dissipated around them, and the members of Wild Hunt surveyed their surroundings. Judging by the clearing and the tents that littered it, they can assume they've arrived at a campsite.

"This was the Jaegers' main camp, during their recent excursion to this Valley." Dorothea explained "When they retreated, they left everything abandoned here as they were driven out."

Enshin picked up one of the collapses tents, and inspected its rotting tatters. With snort of disgust, he threw down the flaps, and continued observing the campground. "There are enough tents here, to accommodate an army." He remarked. Syura walked up next to him, and kicked over another fallen tent, to reveal a discarded piece of armor.

"They were joined up by Esdeath's own army." Syura affirmed "Those fools tried to ambush Night Raid when the assassins came wandering through here." He then started to sneer "I heard, Night Raid with the help of some interesting friends, were able to lay into the Jaegers and the Imperial Army, with ease."

Enshin tensed with uncertainty "And that's why We were sent here? Too try see if We can match up against the assassins and their allies?" Dorothea shook her head, and berated him "Don't be stupid. We wouldn't have fared any better than the Jaegers or the Rakshasa Demons, in going after Night Raid's powerful friends."

"Then, why are We here?" Cosmina asked.

"We're here to learn the font of these strange people's might." Dorothea answered "If We are to discover a means of dealing with the Colonial Marines, it'll be found here at this ruin which had once belonged to them." She began to trot in the direction towards east "Our best chance of finding the key to Our World Domination, lies deep within that Colony. But we must hurry in picking it up. We can't afford to be detected out here."

Enshin and Cosmina followed suit, and made for Hadley's Hope .

Izou took a step forward, and instantly froze in his tracks. He then cocked his head to the side as if listening for something. His hand drifted slowly towards the hilt of Kousetsu.

Syura became aware of Izou's alertness, and murmured "What's wrong?" The swordsman held a finger to his lips, to hush his Companion. He then started scanning all around "We're being watched…"

Syura immediately grasped at his Imperial Arm in readiness, and searched his surroundings in the same way as Izou.

For a long while, the two Wild Hunt members stood still, and waited for something to happen. But the forest remained calmly still. The only sound that can be heard, were the chirping of birds, squeaking of insects, and the screech of some wild marsupial nosing through the decaying tents of the abandoned camp.

"Must have been nothing, but the wind." Izou finally admitted, taking his hand off Kousetsu, before walking to catch up with the other three members of Wild Hunt.

Syura did likewise and let go of Shambala. As he was about to take another step, he heard something warble close behind him.

Reaching for Shambala again, the Prime Minister's Son studied the area around him, trying to find what made that strange sound. His view panned over at a nearby tree. He then blinked a couple of time, to check his vision. For some reason he can't understand, he thought he saw a blur atop of a large branch. Like some sort of heat haze, the blur rippled with movement, and disappeared as it faded into the shadows of the forest canopy.

"What the hell was that?" Syura wondered, as he stood there waiting to see if he can spot that blur again.

"Let's go, Syura!" Dorothea called back to him "I need you to do a couple of things, while We're here."

Syura made a vicious scowl. "Don't get to comfortable with giving me orders." he muttered "Even if Pops favors you, I can still kill you whenever I want, anytime."

Deep within the obscurity of the forest trees, up in the dense foliage, a synthesized voice sounded out through the silence _"Com-comfortable-comfortable giving orders-orders giving me orders. Even if Pops-if-Pops favors-favors you. Kill-kill you whenever, any-anytime anytime…_ anytime… _"_

 **Unknown area in the Forest Wilderness, South of the Empire**

The calm silence of the forest was disrupted by the sound of crumbling earth. Suddenly, a rock formation came apart as it was shattered by a mighty force from within. The resulting rubble tumbled forth to reveal a cave opening. And from within the cave, three towering monstrosities emerged and lumbered out. They first surveyed Their surroundings for dangers, then They craned Their crested heads, and spread their senses far throughout.

The majority of Their kind are currently gathered at a location due Northeast, While one of their own brethren is currently in distress and beleaguered at a location to the North.

Through the vast-spanning collective of the Hive Mind, the Praetorians inquire Their Queen's situation. In a prompt response, the Alien Queen relayed Her nominal condition to her Xenomorph Royal Guards, and sent further instructions to locate a suitable habitat for a Hive, then to investigate the circumstances around Their lone isolated kin.

With Their instructions clear, the three Alien Praetorians stomped along the forest floor in a single-minded drive to carry out their Matriarch's will.

Chapter 11: End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, and any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, the Heroes split and take separate roads, in pursuit of ensuring the World's safety. Unaware of the sinister perils that await them at the end of each road, as more dark forces enclose from where they're least expected.


	13. Chapter 12

To All Readers: Sorry for the long delay, I've been constantly hitting writer's block and had to do so much research. I didn't want to short change the contents and dialogue. It took so much time to figure out how to ensure everyone got to interact with each other, to ensure the quality of this fiction. Hence my need for as much feedback and reviews as I can get, for it helps guide my typography and thereby hasten my work on producing new chapters. Plus, I guess it was only fitting that I finish this chapter right after watching the new Predator movie. Go check it out, if you can. It really help me figure out how the Predator would fit within the story. To help meet demands, this chapter was cut in half, so that I may finish the rest at a later date. Please enjoy this new chapter.

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Aliens and Akame ga Kill! Franchises. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 12: Salvage of Damnation

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Above the Empire's Atmosphere**

Akame slipped off the one remaining piece of her attire, a pure white panty, and placed it through a receptacle to a bulky square machine. Once all her clothes were loaded in, she went over the washing machine's user instructions stamped above the controls, then selected the appropriate wash cycle. The washer spun and gargled, as it started its wash process alongside others handling the remaining Night Raid female members' clothing.

Donning a towel provided from a nearby dispenser, Akame lightly strode through a wide foyer leading into the Sulaco's communal bath, and along a tiled floor towards where her fellow women bathed themselves beneath rows of tall water spouts.

"Watch your step." Mine warned from beneath a shower spigot "The floor gets real slippery when wet." Suddenly, a pair of hands came up from behind, and groped her chest "They're about as slick and flat, as this kid's rack." Chelsea giggled, as she vigorously rubbed at Mine's bare top.

"What the Hell are you doing!?" Mine shrieked, as she struggled to break free of Chelsea's hold. "I heard this was a secret technique to get'em much larger in a short amount of time." Chelsea insisted "Don't you want to show a certain someone, how much of woman you can be?"

Mine blushed even redder, then with one great effort, tore herself free of Chelsea's grasp, and scurried to the far side of the bath.

"That's enough of your teasing, Chelsea." Akame scolded "I would never do something as lewd and perverted, back when I had my baths with Kurome. And she was only slightly more developed than Mine."

"You're not helping!" Mine cried out as she huddled over then crossed her arms protectively in front. Chelsea made a few more snorts of laughter, before applying some soap from a dispenser, and busily lathered her own bosom.

Removing the towel from her supple figure, Akame slowly approached the shower assembly. "Hop in." Leone invited "The water's fine."

The red eyed assassin held her bare foot over the wet tiles, and daintily tapped the water with her toes. "It's warm." she commented. Beside her, Najenda made a stern scowl "I wouldn't advise drinking it." The middle-aged woman's close Subordinates were perplexed. "Why's that?" Chelsea asked. It was Akame who caught on and answered "There are no streams or rivers in space. This Ship does not have any naturally replenishing water source."

After a moment, the redhead and blonde had both realized it. "They're recycling the water, with their technology?" Leone stifled a gag. Chelsea stuck her tongue out in disgust "Ewww! Gross!"

Over at the other end of the shower stall, Mine had her mouth wide open and taking in water straight from a spigot. She then made a large gulp, and turned to her fellow bathers "What are you all staring at?"

Out in the main corridor, Lubbock shifted beside the pipes and conduits lining the wall, making sure to step softly along the grated floor so as to not make any sound.

"Alright, so far so good." The green haired young man whispered, before continuing his stealthy trek towards the shower room. As he got closer, the sound of spouting water droned on out into the corridor. Certain that the noise would mask his approach, Lubbock upped his pace, and came beside the doorway leading into the washroom.

"Time to take a glimpse of the forbidden spectacle of Paradise." Lubbock declared "I can't allow such a golden opportunity to pass."

"Indeed…" A voice spoke into Lubbock's ear, causing him to yelp and very nearly launch himself into the ducts above him the same way which happened to Tatsumi when he was abruptly contacted by Bishop.

Lubbock turned around, and saw Hicks come up behind from out of the gloom within the dark corridor.

"Your timing couldn't have been more perfect." Hicks explained "We need you and Cross Tails, to help us take care something real quick. Outside of the Ship's hull." Lubbock cast a worried glance over at the shower entrance "Can it wait?"

Hicks shook his head "Afraid not." He then started tugging at the Night Raid member's shoulder "We need to address this quickly. So I need you to get with Hudson, suit up, and be ready to assist."

Lubbock stubbornly kept in place "Um, I don't think I'm qualified for helping you guys out. Can't you get someone else, like Su or Tatsumi?" Hicks shook his head once more "Su is in the simulator, working on his driving skills. And Tatsumi is in the armory, practicing on the gun range. That leaves you, the only one without anything to do at the moment."

The green haired defense operative began to tug away from The Corporal "It should be me in that simulator. I'm the one with the most dexterous hands…" Hicks sighed in annoyance "Su and Akame proved otherwise. They both have better reflexes." Lubbock angrily scoffed "That stupid knife game doesn't prove them better qualified than me."

"Nope." The Marine seized younger man's hand, and indicated the large band-aid around Lubbock's middle finger "But, this does." Hicks' hand began to clench tighter to the point where Lubbock's shoulder started to hurt "This can go two ways. Either you come help with the Ship's repairs, or I throw your peepin' ass straight into that lavatory amongst the five most lethal women I've ever known who's modesty you had planned on violating."

Lubbock considered his options for a brief moment. He then hung his head in submission as Hicks led him away.

Meanwhile, several levels above the Crew Quarters and Accommodation Facilities, up in the Operations deck is a small room lined with large blocky chambers, each were attached to a series of computer systems streaming real time environmental conditions typical of surface terrain found planet side. Inside one of them, Susanoo sat before a large video monitor and interface console configured to emulate the driver controls of a standard Daihotai Tractor.

The humanoid Imperial Arm concentrated, as he studied the small instruction prompter window located on the lower left corner of the main screen, then he worked the controls according to the information corresponding on how to operate the vehicle into various maneuvers. Whenever Susanoo would input a proper command, a light chime would sound out, and a new set of instructions would be displayed on the prompter.

After several more chimes sounded out, the whole system begins to power down, and Susanoo exited the simulator. He stepped over to the computers and stared at a digital readout, on it a group of words were displayed

EXERCISE COMPLETE. SCORE:100%

With a nod of satisfaction, Susanoo turned and made to leave the room, but was crowded back as Ripley entered with Bishop trailing behind.

"I don't want to hear about it Bishop." Ripley chided "Just do what I asked, and program one of the simulators for learning how to pilot the dropship." Bishop was calm as he tried to dissuade the Lieutenant "What makes you think you're qualified to pilot the Dropship anyhow?"

Ripley was thoroughly annoyed "Are you malfunctioning? As Executive Officer of this ship, you'd have to seen my profile dossier within ICC's database. I'm trained and licensed for Interstellar Commercial Flight." The synthetic android nodded thoughtfully "Yes. I've read the file, including the case which suspended your license."

"On the grounds of questionable judgement and decision making under suspicious circumstances." Ripley pointed out "The panel of inquiry didn't believe my recount of events following the time when the Nostromo came to LV-426, nor were they convinced of what Dallas and the others found there." She bit back hard against her growing anger and frustration "If they had seen what came back with them, what It had put inside Kane, and what that Thing did to him and the rest of the crew... I was there. I was the one who had to see what was left of them afterward. And what Ash tried to do…" The Lieutenant paused, as she tried keep her mind from picturing Her traumatic experience back on the Nostromo when her own crewmate nearly murdered her in order to safeguard the Xenomorph until Weyland-Yutani could get ahold of It. And what that same Alien left of Dallas, Brett, Parker, and Lambert, after It was done with them.

After Ripley reigned in her feelings, to keep from breaking down, she continued "I wasn't wrong and I wasn't lying about what had happened out there. You've seen it yourself back at Hadley's, before We all came here to this place. My story is every bit truth and fact. And that renders the suspension null and void, for all intents and purposes."

Bishop stood there for a moment to contemplate Ripley's argument. "Please try to see things on my end." he reasoned "So far, I've been more than concessive when it comes to your blatant disregard to military protocol and standard procedure. But at some point, you must submit to proper authority."

"Pass." Ripley asserted "You'd think I'm going to wait around for someone like Burke, or that sanctimonious prick Van Leuwen to tell me what's right and proper? Get real." The Lieutenant's face darkened "Or, perhaps you're in on it too." Bishop recognized the hostile tone she was taking, but remained passive so as not to escalate the tension.

"I'm not sure what you may be referring to." The Synthetic Android stated coyly. Ripley then pressed the issue "I'm referring to Special Order 937, the same orders that was given to Ash. The Company programmed him to infiltrate the Nostromo crew as a last minute replacement Science Officer. The Bastard then manipulated things, so that an Alien can be brought onboard and ensured that It would be taken back to Earth and into Company hands for study and exploitation. And as for Me and the Others, We were just disposable mouth-breathers meant to die in the event when We'd get in the way of that prerogative"

"You think, I'm serving Weyland-Yutani's interests." Bishop realized "You couldn't be any further from the truth. My purpose is to assist those aboard this vessel, whether in the a field of operations or menial tasks." In an attempt to express his contempt with Ripley's allegations, the Science Officer spoke slowly with a slight force of volume "The Company's ambitions holds little concern for me. What matters are my prime directives, which is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all Colonial Personnel, yourself included."

"Ash pretended he had similar priorities." Ripley argued "And so did MU/TH/UR. Then, they both tried to kill me in cold blood, at the drop of a hat. That's my problem with all artificial intelligence, deep down, you're nothing but bolts and batteries. Easy to turn into weapons by those that created you, no different than that ugly motherfucker who nearly made me into its chew toy."

Before Ripley can utter a retort, Susanoo walked up to the two, and chimed in "If it's anyway relevant, I'd give Bishop the benefit of the doubt." Both the Lieutenant and the Executive Officer then turned their attention to the inly other artificial person in the room.

Susanoo crossed his arms and spoke "Before you go into a tirade of random accusations, consider this. I too am an artificial being. As a lifeform that was fabricated by human hands for the sole purpose of being used as a weapon, I am bound by set directives and parameters by which to follow them. Still, let not my base function define me, but my actions instead. When I've laid dormant all these years, it was a soul as noble as Ms. Najenda which reactivated me. Does that not show that although I am created for the sole purpose to destroy, I may be only be capable of serving those with a righteous cause? And haven't I demonstrated my services need not exclude catering and stewardship to my master and her friends including you, instead of just killing the enemy? Yes, most of Us in Your company can very well be dangerous, but that doesn't mean some of Us don't carry a prerogative which insures no one comes to harm by Us."

Ripley held her chin in thought. "You need to have perspective, Ripley." Susanoo continued "Everyone aboard this vessel heeds you now, and We follow your instructions without doubt or hesitation. Because, We are convinced that you have Our survival in mind when pitted against overwhelming odds. We took your words at face value. Perhaps you should learn to do the same, or none of Us will make towards the end of Our struggles."

The humanoid Imperial Arm, then turned to his fellow Synthetic "And that goes the same for you, Bishop. Ms. Ripley has already proved her adequacy, as a military combatant. We may need to rely on her once more in future battles. At the very least, ensure she is fully qualified to carry out her prospective duties to the highest standard." Bishop quickly deliberated the proposal. "One condition." he insisted Ripley "You must complete the simulator's training exercise with a perfect score. Only then will I clear you to fly."

Ripley smirked and nodded with confidence. She then turned her attention over to Susanoo "Su, how'd it go in the simulator?"

The humanoid Imperial Arm indicated the score display while smiling. "I think I can handle it now." Susanoo assured. Ripley then gave a thumbs up "Good. Now, do you mind fetching Najenda and the other girls? Akame needs to get started with her training, and she could also use your assistance." Susanoo had already began making for the corridor "Right away."

Before getting to work on programming and reconfiguring the other simulator for dropship pilot training, Bishop began to reset the tractor simulator to startup point. "Don't you perhaps want to undertake the crawler exercise yourself? Your Class 2 rating would more than qualify you for operating one." Ripley motioned her hand dismissively "I've handled the APC well enough. I can manage a tractor easily."

The Science Officer made a condescending chuckle "If a blown transaxle is what you call 'handling it well enough'." The Lieutenant gave Bishop an assertive glance "Don't listen to Hicks. He exaggerates."

"I'm afraid, I must." Bishop replied "The Corporal is the only one among Us, who's formally rated for driving all terrain vehicles including Daihotai Tractors. After all, it was he who managed to assemble the convoy train, and drive it out into the forest surrounding the Valley, to hide and secure the Colony material salvage." Ripley wasn't going to be outdone "Hey, I could've helped load every tool, equipment, component, and workable scrap pulled out of that damned place. If I'd been there"

"But you didn't." the android countered "Tatsumi, Leone, and Susanoo handled that detail alone, because you had to remain on the ship and recover from your injuries. Wounds that were brought about by your recent bout of confronting some very dangerous people armed with equally dangerous weapons, with reckless abandon and disregard for appropriate use of hazardous equipment." Ripley crossed her arms disparagingly "What difference does that make? Be it Imperial Arms or a Cargo Loader, I still held my own." Bishop held up both hands to show he wasn't looking to argue "No one doubts your battle prowess or combat efficiency. I'm just pointing out your rather indelicate habits, when it comes to the collateral destruction of certain modes of conveyance under dire circumstances. You did blow up a CM-88B Bison M-class Starfreighter, irreparably damaged an M577 Armored Personnel Carrier, nearly obliterated a P-5000 Work Loader, and indirectly put a Conestoga-Class Starship's weapon's system out of commission."

"That's not fair, Bishop." Ripley complained "I had no choice. The Alien couldn't be allowed to make it to Earth aboard the Nostromo, Hicks and the Others needed to be rescued from out of the Hive, that Beast of Seryu's, Koro, I think it was called, had to be put down before it could devour Newt, and Seryu would have this Ship blown to Hell with all of Us in it, if her fucking bomb set off in the Hangar." She checked the many small bruises all over her body, that she got as a result of fighting alone against the biological Imperial Arm, and from when the Power Loader had fallen down after feeling the bomb's explosion impact the Sulaco's hull.

Once the Lieutenant felt up the last of her small injuries, she spoke again "If you could've come up with any better solutions to the many times We were in deep shit, then you can fault me. But We are still alive, thanks to the choices I've made when the chips were down. That remains an indisputable fact. Agreed?"

To show that he was still compliant to Ripley's leadership, Bishop stated calmly "You didn't hear Me, Hicks, or Najenda speak out against you, when you instructed Us to linger back at the Hadley Colony, long enough to strip out what might be needed, so that none of Us would be required to risk returning again." Not waiting for a prompt response, Bishop went back to his task while asking one last question "Do you think the remaining Jaegers or anyone else from the Empire are still going to attempt another foray into Hadley's Hope?"

Ripley could only shrug with uncertainty "Everyone took everything that wasn't nailed down. Picked it clean of anything We could use. That place is nothing to anyone who goes poking around there now."

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Syura stepped out of the dense cover of the forest, and onto an open landscape. In front of him were his fellow members of Wild Hunt, standing still and gaping at a large conic shaped building ahead of them.

"What do we have here?" Enshin called out, expecting some sort of explanation. Dorothea moseyed on around him, and smirked "This was the ruin I was telling you all about." Without breaking, stride she trotted through the ashen colored grounds, and made to go around the structure "There should be more, on the far side of this construct."

Izou and Cosmina were about to follow, but Enshin remained where he stood.

"Not so fast." Enshin called out "First of all, let's hear it. Why exactly did you bring Us out to this dump?" Syura stepped out from behind, and agreed "You said you can give Us the World. How do you plan on accomplishing that?"

Dorothea anticipated her teammates would inquire more on what she had been scheming, but the Alchemist couldn't run the risk of the others learning about the Aliens. All information pertaining to the Xenomorph species is still privy to a select few, by order of the Prime Minister. As far as she's concerned, every other military roustabout only knows about the Colonial Marines, and not the Aliens the Jaegers encountered. Fortunately, that group of otherworldly militants pose such an apparent face of a threat, no one would be none the wiser in comprehending the true prize she and Honest sought after.

"I'm currently developing a weapon that can overpower Imperial Arms." Dorothea announced while resuming her walk around the giant ruin. The Others shot a look of dismay, before trailing after.

"Impossible!" Enshin deniably argued "There's no weapon in the world that can outdo an Imperial Arm, except others Imperial Arms of course."

"You're absolutely right." concurred Dorothea "But what I plan to make isn't of this world, but beyond it." That piqued some of her Comrades' interest.

"Go on…" Syura demanded

Once Wild Hunt began to round the large structure, they gave Dorothea their undivided attention again.

The Alchemist then explained "In those ruin, lie technologies akin to what the Colonial Marines had used to soundly defeat the Jaegers and the Imperial Army. I plan on using that technology to create a weapon that can rival the might of famously powerful Imperial Arms wielded by the likes such as the Great General Budo or General Esdeath."

As everyone pondered the idea while walking along, Dorothea kept explaining "Imagine a weapon that will annihilate Our enemies in an instant. Whole cities and nations vanished overnight or in the blink of an eye." She then held out her hand invitingly before clenching it tight "Now, think of the convenience of having this weapon produced exclusively for Us, using the right kind of equipment and support systems. We would have the entire world brought to heel, out of fear and dread of the destructive qualities by this instrument of death alone." She took a moment to let the others take further thought about such an appealing concept.

"A weapon to take over the World…" Cosmina mused.

"One that only We can use." Enshin remarked.

"I care not for a new sort of weapon" Izou said dismissively "Kousetsu is all that I am devoted to."

Wanting more details, Syura spoke up "So, what you're talking about is some sort of device? A machine of some kind?"

Dorothea made a devious smile, and pointed out in front of them "It'll be something that can do much more than this…"

Wild Hunt cleared the first ruin, and found themselves facing the remainder of the Colony and the battle-torn grounds surrounding it. No one spoke for a moment, as they took in the view of devastation. Bombed out craters, smoldering hunks of slag, and shrapnel still puffing up small wisps of smoke littered the place all around.

"It seems, the rumor was true about the Imperial Army's defeat." Syura mused "This must be where they fought the Battle of Hadley's Hope." The Prime Minister's Son knelt and lifted a broken spear head, then idly tossed it aside "An army numbering no less than 50,000 plus the Jaegers, a handful of Imperial Arms users, set an ambush on that notorious team of assassins Night Raid. And were swiftly beaten to the point of retreating all the way back to the Southern Outpost. Not one enemy assassin had been killed, all thanks to a unknown group who aided the rebels."

Cosmina raised a hand "What were these other people called again?" Izou answered for her "Colonial Marines." The swordsman then took another gander at the ominous scene.

"So much destructive power." Izou finally commented. Enshin nodded in agreement while thumbing the hilt of his Imperial Arm, Shamshir. "So tell Us more about them." the cutthroat demanded "Where exactly did these people come from?" This time, it was Syura who answered "A different World, believe it or not. At least, that's what the Jeagers have reported."

Enshin remained skeptical "Sounds farfetched to me. What made you so sure about that?" The leader of Wild Hunt shrugged as a matter of fact "Because, I've been to nearly every part of the globe, and I have never seen any civilization that can unleash devastation on this scale before."

Izou rubbed his chin, then addressed the shortest female of their group "And you claim, You can acquire a similar power to match these people's might?"

Dorothea made an excited nod "The battle here has provided Us with a unique window of opportunity. It's obvious that the Colonial Marines are deliberately ignoring the Empire, despite the recent hostilities which broke out between them. That's because they are currently occupied with the hunt for a way back to their original world. They may be planning to return here afterwards, so that they may invade this world, and either kill Us all or subjugate Us."

Enshin made a face of contempt "I'm not about to become someone's slave."

Disregarding the subject, Cosmina pointed at Colony complex looming ahead of the encroaching team of Imperial Arms users "So, how did this all end up here anyways?" Dorothea shrugged "I don't exactly know for sure. Reports from the Jaegers who investigated this site, showed evidence of something going awry with one of their facilities. Things began to grow unstable, and then suddenly an explosive blast of some kind, overtook the entire Colony, then sent it hurdling beyond the point of origin. The anomalous event could be the result of another one of their technology, maybe a device capable of teleportation like Syura's Shambhala, going haywire after receiving damage then warping everything around it, sending it all here on some arbitrary coordinates."

Enshin was the first to reach the Colony proper. He tapped the point of Shamshir against a steel wall, which a provided a low-toned _Tink_.

"So, your saying." Enshin indicated a large gaping ingress bay set above a causeway ramp "All that high-tech equipment is still in there, waiting for anyone to come by and claim it?" The rest of Wild Hunt followed and observed the opening to a dark interior of a building with the word GARAGE stamped on the side. Along the ground and leading away from the ramp, were deep set tracks running in parallels.

Izou knelt for a closer study of the trail, sniffed and winced at a bitter lingering odor. He then glared along the dirt, tracing the linear path heading straight south towards the tree line. "These tracks are recent" the swordsman declared "They were made soon after the battle had ended. And by something big and heavy."

"Some sort of conveyance of theirs." Dorothea surmised "A wagon of some kind. Most likely used to move anything salvageable from here." She gazed in the southern direction, with a good mind of knowing what the trails' intended course and destination. "If anything remained, that is still in working order, I doubt the Enemy would leave it behind." Dorothea then held her chin in contemplation "But if any of it was broken or damaged, they'd most likely abandon it, assuming nobody would be able to use it against them."

Syura was vexed "So, why would We want something that possibly may not work at all?" The Alchemist patted a small object inside her dress pocket, and smirked "Because, I have a means of repairing whatever damage a device may have. I can restore it to full functionality, with hardly any effort at all."

 **U.S.S. Sulaco, Above the Empire's Atmosphere**

Lubbock shifted uncomfortably from within a thick bulky outfit, as Hudson stood before him busily securing a bulbous helmet into its coupling socket around Lubbock's neck. The whole ensemble felt heavy and cumbersome, but according to an earlier explanation from the ComTech, anyone who steps out of the Ship's airlock without an E.V.A suit would only end up the same way as those Imperials whom Ripley flushed out into space, sucked out and blown dry.

Hudson snapped several fasteners around the helmet's coupling bracket, and stepped back to examine his work. "How's the suit? Feel like anything hanging loose?" Lubbock lugged about within the sluggish getup and made a sour expression from behind the helmet's faceplate "Feels like I shouldn't be wasting my time on this dumb little chore."

The ComTech chuckled at the green haired assassin's wisecrack "Chill out, man. You're not gonna be doing much. We just need you to hang out here near the airlock hatch, while Hicks and I go check things out along the Sulaco's exterior. Once we're done out there, we're gonna need you to reel us back in safely with those strings of yours. You'll be saving Us some time, and We gotta knock this one out, before We get back down to the surface." As Hudson began donning his own E.V.A suit, an already cladded Hicks appeared through the hatch of an adjoining compartment.

"We all set?" the Corporal asked, as he hefted a large bundle of thick metallic poles alongside him. Lubbock took notice of Hick's burden, while he tried to fasten CrossTails over his mitted hands "What are those?" Hicks set down the metal spires and started to fasten his helmet on "They're called Rakes, telescopic magnets that are planted along a starship's outer hull. Once they are powered on, any metallic debris clustered around the Ship will be drawn in and clumped up along the stem of the device. This is how we clear the area around any parts that have come under heavy fire, to check for damages and make any necessary repairs. Once the vicinity is cleaned, we haul the scrap back inside as salvage. Nothing goes to waste, on this Bucket."

After securing his helmet on, Hudson reached over at a control panel set beside the outer door to the airlock the trio stood in. "Closing inner doors…" with a flick of a switch, the pair of doors leading back into the Ship rumbled closed.

"Vacuum stress conditioning, start." the ComTech announced. He then threw another switch, and the whole room emitted a sound of rushing air as it was progressively sucked through sealable vent ports. As the vacuum began to settle into the airlock, Hicks elbowed against Lubbock's shoulder to get his attention, and held up an arm which had a status monitor on the wrist. The Corporal pointed to a small digital readout displaying a measured bar with an O2 label beneath, it accompanied by a green lettered word reading SEALED.

["Keep an eye on that monitor, Lubbock."] Hudson's voice crackled over space suit's comms. ["If your air is low, or you see the word BREACH, let me and Hicks know right away."] Lubbock took a quick glance at his own readout, and threw the ComTech a thumbs-up. Several moments went by, and a sharp buzz sounded from the control panel.

["Opening outer door!"] Hudson called out, and then pressed the last switch that parted an exit from the Sulaco's interior amid a blaring chorus of klaxons and alarms. As the doors rolled back, Lubbock peered from behind his Helmet's faceplate, to the view beyond.

With just an E.V.A suit separating him and infinite space, Lubbock could see the entire starscape around like he never did within the confines of the Dropship. And for an instant, his entire being froze.

Brilliant gems of lights stretched as far as an eye can possibly see, ever burning with illumination against the dark of void never that never ceases to envelop all existence. The sight kept going on for eternity, and the green haired assassin had to shake his head to keep the absurdity from overtaking him like what happened to Akame. "Boss and the Others are really missing out on this." he mumbled to himself.

As Lubbock turned to speak with Hicks, he felt his legs come away from the floor "Wahh!" His arms flailed about, compulsively seeking any purchase of leverage to keep him steady. Hudson reached out and clutched the young man's left arm, and pulled him down ["Quit spacing out, man. It's only weightlessness."] The ComTech then took a line strapped to Lubbock's waist, and clipped the other end onto a safety railing ["Whenever you step outside of the Ship, the gravity field loses its effect, and you'll just float away if you don't keep yourself tethered.]

Hicks took his own lifeline, and handed it to Lubbock ["Take this and tie your Imperial Arm to the other end. Do the same for Hudson's. Once we're finished with what we need to do, I'll tug the line three times. That's when you'll reel us back here slowly."] Lubbock began tying off CrossTail's threads onto each clip of the Marines' safety tethers.

Once he was done, Lubbock made a hard tug at each knot to ensure they wouldn't come undone. Once he was certain the threads would remain taught, the clever assassin gave a thumbs-up. Hicks gathered up the Rake poles and steadily approached the gaping hatchway.

Reaching out with his leg, and latching onto the Sulaco's outer hull with the E.V.A. suit's magnetic boots, Hicks briskly stepped over the edge, and disappeared from view. Hudson casually did likewise, and followed. Lubbock could only look on in amazement, as he fed out his Imperial Arm's thread to keep the line slack an untangled."

In the Sulaco's mess hall, Mine sat down on a large table alone with a large cup in her hands. Taking out a spoon, the pink haired sharpshooter glanced around the entire mess hall to ensure she was by herself. After confirming the coast was clear, she licked her lips and eagerly drove her spoon into the cup, and began to scoop out its contents.

Suddenly, the hum sounded of sliding door sounded out behind Mine, which made her set down her snack, as she watched Tatsumi stepped into the mess hall and stood by as the door retracted close.

"Hey, Tatsumi." Greeted the Genius Sniper, as she slowly began to return to her cup. The young man eyed the item in Mine's hands, and spoke "What's that you got there?" Mine reflexively tucked the culinary object around her back, but relented after meeting her comrade's blank gaze.

"It's ice cream. Believe it or not." Mine declared excitedly "I figured out which of the kitchen's dispensers served it." She held up the large cup and ladled out the spoon covered in a thick frosty cream of a pale pinkish color. "It comes in three flavors, Strawberry, Chocolate, and Vanilla." The indulgent young woman set the spoon back the cup and gently stirred "The Chocolate tasted a little bland, and I never much cared for Vanilla. But, when I searched the nearby pantry, I came across a box of powdered fruit, and one of the packets had Strawberry on its label. So, put two and two together, and voila! A satisfactory confection for my prestigious palette."

Fighting the strong urge to chuckle, Tatsumi's face just simply grinned "That's rather neat. But I'm afraid you're treat's gonna have to wait." Mine grew perplexed as Tatsumi motioned her towards the exit door. "I was sent by Najenda, to tell you that she needed your help, down in the armory's firing range."

The shorter assassin's delight ebbed away, as she stared at Tatsumi's hand reaching for the ice cream. "I'll hold onto this, until you get back." Tatsumi offered "We can't have such a product of frozen decadence melt away now, can we?-"

Mine seized the hand by the wrist, and tugged her close. "Nice try." She hissed "But I can see through your deception." The other person made a surprised expression "I don't know what you're talking about-" Mine's grip tightened "You can drop the act already…Chelsea." In a puff of smoke and vapor, Tatsumi's visage dissolved away, and in place stood a mischievous redhead with a smirk on her face "What gave it away?"

Mine relinquished Chelsea, then jealously hoarded her dessert. "Your first mistake; you called the Boss by her name. Tatsumi never does that, not once. And secondly…" the Genius Sniper made an insidious grin "Tatsumi is my underling. I'm the one who tells him what to do, and he does it obediently and without question. Not the other way around."

Chelsea rubbed her wrist, and smoothed her shirt sleeve over it. "My, my. You certainly know a lot about Tatsumi." she then threw a sneer towards her fellow young woman "The both of you must have quite the intimate relationship." Mine blushed a deep magenta, before going into a frenzied rant "We're not like that, at all! How could you make that kind of assumption!?"

Wearing a coy expression, the doppelganger assassin feigned ignorance "But, why wouldn't you? Think about it." Chelsea scooted closer to Mine and spoke in a hushed tone "In this line of work, Our lives could come to an abrupt end at any given moment in the heat of battle. Would you not at least try to enjoy what little gratification that is so close and available to you?" She drew her pink haired comrade even closer, so as to murmur in Mine's ear "Don't think, you can neglect His bright personality, His helpful nature, His trimmed yet toned body, His soft hair with that silly cowlick on top, and let's not forget those bright jade eyes of His, always expressing His sincerity and eagerness to please others. And if I recall, He's saved your hide more than once, I believe."

Mine listened to every word that described Tatsumi, but strangely hadn't made a rebuttal. Instead, she stiffly placed her cup of ice cream on the table, then walked out the exit hatch and into the corridor.

Chelsea chuckled, as she picked up the now abandoned dessert and began to stir its spoon "That didn't take much to get her hot and bothered." She took a scoop and chomped down on the pink frost. Then after chewing and swallowing, the redhead sat at the table "Some people take themselves too seriously…"

Down near the bow of the Sulaco, both Corporal and ComTech reached the impact site of Seryu's bomb explosion. Scraps of torn metal littered the entire surrounding as the debris floated about lazily, obscuring Hicks' perception of ascertaining the scale of damage.

["Let's begin setting up the rakes."] The Corporal ordered. He and Hudson divided half the magnetic shafts between the two of them.

["I'll go this way."] the ComTech informed ["Keep a 5 meter spread. Make sure they're positioned in circumference."] Hicks placed a rake against the outer hull, then after pressing a small button, the pole's base adhered to the solid metal plating. Randomly passing debris would do likewise to the stem, once they strayed close enough.

["It's working."] Hicks announced ["Start another radius, once you've finished your arc. And try not to snag your line."] He checked his own tether, to ensure he had enough slack ["Keep feeding us CrossTail's thread, Lubbock. And let me know if it runs short."]

Lubbock quickly inspected his Imperial Arm's spool, then answered ["We're good for now, though I'd suggest you don't continue any further great distance."]

Hudson scanned the immediate area, in order to gauge the remaining span to cover ["We should be good. Not a whole lot of space left to clear…"]

Elsewhere, back in the Ship's Armory, Tatsumi stood behind a loading stall within the adjoining practice range. After loading his Tactical Shotgun to full magazine, he shouldered the weapon's stock "Line up the sights…place it over the target…" Once he followed the directions, the green eyed fighter pulled the trigger _Ptoom!_ Downrange, hoisted by spring activated pennants, a target pane shattered.

"Bullseye." Tatsumi set his sights on the next target, but noticed Najenda entering the room, so he instead tilted his head to acknowledge his leader "Boss…"

The Commander of Night Raid studied the line of targets down the range, and took notice of the one her Subordinate had managed to hit. "Nice shot there, Tatsumi." she complimented "You seem to be getting used to handling firearms." Tatsumi swelled with pride and accomplishment, as he received the compliment graciously "Thanks. But, I wouldn't say I'm up to par to skills in marksmanship like those of Mine's." Najenda grinned while shaking her head "There's no need to compare yourself to her. Mine has her own strengths and shortcomings, as do you. That much was made clear during the Battle of Hadley's Hope. We've won that engagement, not just with Marine firepower, but because all of Our abilities had complimented each other."

The latest member of Night Raid, started to look uncertain "Then are you sure you want to break Us up? Do you really plan on sending Us to different parts of the continent, to look for the Derelict?" Najenda sighed, she anticipated some of her Subordinates would have misgivings about Night Raid's two pronged expeditions, especially coming from the green eyed fighter.

"I understand your concerns, Tatsumi." Najenda started "We've gone through several close scrapes I recent days, and most of which would have cost lives, if it wasn't for Ripley and Hicks helping Us out." She placed a hand on Tatsumi's shoulder "We owe Our Friends big time, for dealing with Esdeath. And We'll likely have to depend on them and their tech, in the days to come. That is why I've volunteered Our team to come through in this undertaking. We need the Colonial Marines and their Ship to aid in the rebellion. And to that end, We must locate and secure the Derelict, and perhaps curtail the risk of an Alien infestation." Taking a step away from the young man, Najenda raised her cybernetic arm, and used the ocular scope to mark a target down the range. Once she had the eyepiece laser centered, the gun barrel on the robotic arm adjusted its aim, then fired a shot _Boom!_ The cannon round streaked towards the center of the flat target, and shattered the who pane on impact.

"If there's one thing I'm certain of, Tatsumi." Night Raid's leader set her targeting sights on another mark "Is that technology such as this, can definitely stand up to an Imperial Arm." _Boom!_ The next target pane was smashed apart at a near instant.

Tatsumi smiled and was about to praise his Commander's accurate shooting, until the door behind them hummed open again, and both of them saw Mine enter.

"Hey, Mine." Tatsumi greeted "What's up?" Mine wore a vague frown, as she stared at him, while casting an uncertain glance at their leader "Do you have a moment, Tatsumi?" The male assassin was perplexed by Mine's cordial tone "Sure. What do you need?"

The Genius Sniper bit her lip as she cast one more wary glance at Najenda. "Never mind." She answered, then turned to leave the firing range "Just forget about it. Okay?" A puzzled Tatsumi scratched his head, while he watched Mine vacate the Armory "Well that was weird. Right, Boss?" The only response from Najenda, was a sigh of disappointment.

Hicks stood back, as he observed the hulking mess of warped and scorched metal that was once the Sulaco's ventral Railgun. One side of the Railgun was missing its protective panels, exposing the weapon assembly inside, whereas the other side had completely buckled inward and melded with its interior. Hudson stood next to his fellow Marine, and cocked an eyebrow from behind his helmet's faceplate.

The Corporal cautiously advanced towards the mangled turret, then beckoned for the ComTech to follow. They had to ascertain whether the damage was as severe as it had seemed.

Hudson placed his gloved hands on a panel ["Looks like the Weapon Housing took most of the blast impact."] With a heave, the ComTech lifted away the loose metal coverings, and checked underneath using headlights mounted on his helmet, plus the E.V.A. suit's very own shoulder lamp. ["Man, it's a total shit show in there, but I don't see anything wrong with the rotary base."] He then looked to the side ["The same can't be said about the barrels. See how they're bent out of alignment?"] Hicks came alongside, and assessed the damage conditions.

["It's not as bad as I would have thought."] the Corporal spoke optimistically ["Can You and Bishop be able to repair it, asap?"] Hudson was livid ["Asap!? Weren't you paying attention? The barrels alone could take weeks to repair or replace components, assuming that's how far the damage actually is. If there's any internal damage, then only if We drydock this creaking tub, can that problem be addressed. We might need a whole new Railgun altogether. And where the fuck do We find this kind of hardware? For all We know, Our coordinates could be an entire galaxy away from the nearest port! We don't have any place around here, where We can get what We need."]

["We already do…"] the Corporal pointed straight up towards the top of the Sulaco ["We'll just take the necessary parts from the other gun."] Hudson gawked in the direction of the Dorsal Railgun ["Are you out of your mind!? That's Our main defense against threats from higher orbit."] Hicks wouldn't hear such an excuse ["Then you'd best damned hope, We're the only ones floating around up here. What matters is getting back Our means of bombarding the Capitol, with precise devastation. I want to be able to flatten some Imperial asshole while he's on the shitter, right from above. And for that, I'd rather have the top gun be used to fix the bottom one. Cannibalize everything, if need be."]

Hicks grabbed his safety tether, and gave it three hard tugs. In a moment, Crosstail's thread line became taught, and both him and Hudson were yanked away from the Sulaco's hull, and were slowly reeled in towards the airlock ["We have maintenance drones onboard, that You're qualified to operate. I want You and Bishop to get started with the repairs, once We get everything else squared away."]

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Syura stood by in front of a large building with its open front doors that had the words WEST LOCK stamped on in large letters. His Imperial Arm was drawn, and beside him, his teammates had done likewise. The way inside was near pitch black, and even the light of day had a hard time piercing through.

Only Dorothea continued forward, unaffected by the structure's intimidating gloom. "It's alright!" she called back "Whatever's been in here had been long gone. Nothing's been around to trouble the Jaegers before, nothing's gonna come out after Us now."

Enshin and Cosmina looked to Syura, to see what he would do, as the Prime Minister's son glance sidelong at Izou. "She speaks truly." stated the eastern swordsman who ventured secondly into the Colony's dark corridor, but he never took his hand off Kousetsu's hilt. Syura and the others quickly followed after.

Dorothea stopped near the edge of the shadows, just shy of where daylight penetrated. She then turned to the rest of Wild Hunt "Here…" she produce a flask from out of her dress, and removed its cap "Everyone take a swig of this."

"What is it?" Syura warily asked. The foreign Alchemist took a small draft of the flask's contents and answered "One of my own inventions. It's a potion that grants bioluminescence. Your body will glow bright enough to light up your surroundings for a while." Just as she explained, her body did indeed glow radiantly, enough to illuminate the corridor ahead for safely traversing.

With an affirmative nod, Syura took the flask from Dorothea, then imbibed the potion. Izou, Enshin, and Cosmina did the same, afterwards.

When every one of Wild Hunt present glowed brightly, they started down the now well lit corridor.

"Geez, what a mess." Enshin remarked, as he and his teammates took a gander at the hall's bare aesthetics. Syura was unimpressed "No account for taste, these people had. Even if this place wasn't in such a sorry state." Dorothea waved off the criticism, and began walking further down the grated path "I've never said that the architecture was visually refined. These people valued utility, they prefer function over finesse." She began to impatiently beckoned the Others to follow. With an aggravated expression, Syura led the rest.

As Wild Hunt steadily made their way through the Colony, Cosmina glanced around idly, and took notice of several portions of gaps in the floor grating ahead. "What are all these holes?" she asked Dorothea who made a shrug of indifference "Fuel rupture, most likely. They must've had pipes and conduit lines pumping and channeling chemicals with corrosive properties, used to somehow provide power throughout the entire complex."

They wound their way further on, rounding corners and stepping through clutters of damage and debris, as the signs of violent conflict became more apparent. Everyone kept close to the Western Alchemist, while she briskly paced on seemingly unaffected by such bleak surroundings. Until, a large copper stain shown up on a nearby wall. The whole group stopped to observe the crimson blotch. Most could recognize what is was right away.

"That's blood…" Enshin pointed out.

"Dried blood." Izou corrected "And judging by the coagulation, it's been here for quite a long time."

All eyes started to leer at Dorothea, questioningly. "You should already know, a battle took place at this Colony." she explained "The fighting could have spread within the corridors of these buildings." Izou went silent, and offered no opinion on the matter. Nobody else thought to argue that logic. Syura maintained his scowl, stamped his foot impatiently "C'mon, let's get this over with, so We can leave this place pronto."

"How much further, do We need to go Dorothea?" Enshin bemoaned "Do you even know what We're supposed to be looking for?"

"Yes!" Dorothea replied in annoyance "It's just up ahead, this way." The foreign Alchemist pointed to a stairwell down the end of the hallway, and made for the steps.

As the group of Imperial Arms users climbed the stairs, they came upon a jumbled pile of metal paneling and heavy-looking equipment, that had a large man-size gap in its center. "It's a barricade, to keep the Jaegers at bay." Dorothea informed. Enshin examined the breach under the light of his bioluminescent face "It didn't seem to slow them down much. This was easily smashed open."

"Isn't the Imperial Army one of the most powerful military in the world, and the Jaegers being the strongest group of Imperial Arms users?" Cosmina asked "If the Jaegers had gotten the upper hand, how is it that they've been beaten so easily?"

Before Dorothea could think up an explanation, Syura answered the Singer's question "I heard that their leader vanished, amidst a parlay." He took out Shambhala, and glanced at it in reminiscence "Without General Esdeath, The Empire's forces was without a head and without its strongest fighter. So, all those idiots could do was charge right in like lambs to the slaughter."

Izou thumbed the hilt of his Kousetsu, bemused at the thought of missing out on such carnage. "If these Colonial Marines managed to throw back a massive onslaught, why do they not remain entrenched here? Even in such a diluted state, this Colony could still serve as a foothold with no one able to harass them." Dorothea stubbornly insisted "I've told you before. They're stranded here, away from their homeworld. Finding a means of returning is their only concern, for right now. Which is why We must act fast, and discover the nature of their technology. We can still defeat them and any who oppose Us, if We hurry up and do what We came here to do!"

They reached a central nexus of multiple corridors leading off in opposite directions, on led to an elevator, one led to a stet of stairs going further up, and another went straight towards another barricade with a single door barely visible on the side.

"That's where we need to go." Dorothea declared, pointing at the lone door. She then gestured at the stairs "That probably leads to the roof. Izou. Enshin. I need you both to go topside, and be Our lookouts. Cover every direction leading to this building, but keep a low profile. We can't afford to have anyone notice Us being out here. If you see something coming, come back down, and tell us." Enshin mumbled something unintelligible, before rolling his eyes, and proceeded up the steps. Izou kept silent, and followed.

"The rest, follow me." the Alchemist led Syura and Cosmina towards the door. The trio stood there, and before anyone could ask how to open the way in, Dorothea simply slipped her fingers through the middle seam where there was a gapping notch, then parted the sliding doors.

The next room was as dark as the corridors outside, but the area lit up quickly by the three's bioluminescence after entering. Shura scanned the large place with scrutiny. "Looks like an infirmary." he surmised.

"It is." Dorothea affirmed "This was their medical facilities, for treating the sick and injured." She glanced at ransacked cabinets and empty desks ("Though, I wished they'd left anything worth salvaging from this dump.")

"What are those?" Comsina called out, as she pointed to a small compartment off to the side, where there sat small containers with strange little creatures displayed inside. A sweat drop formed on the back of Dorothea's head as she hastily replied "Umm…probably an experiment of theirs on some local vermin. Be sure to collect them for me, I'll want to study Them later."

"They look like severed hands." Syura commented, but took no action in retrieving the containers. "They're harmless, and possibly already dead." the Alchemist reasoned "If They wanted out of those tanks, They'd already have escaped."

"Alright you two." Dorothea instructed "Gather anything you can find that looks usable, I don't care how small or minute is can seem. Pile them right in the center of this room, for Syura to transport. And be very gentle with handling them." She started to walk on towards the opposite side of Medical. "Where are you going?" Syura asked her.

"I'll be checking the other rooms, to see if there's anything else We can bring back." Dorothea answered "I'll be fine on my own." she reassured. "Like I care." snorted the Prime Minister's Son, then he and Cosmina went about their task.

Over towards the far side of Medical, Dorothea stepped into a small square junction which adjoined a larger room. She stooped near a broken door laying across from a large vent opening, curious to know what happened here. ("No time to look into it. There are more important things to do.") She thought, and with a sigh, moved on and proceeded into Operations.

As the foreign Alchemist rounded a long rectangular partition, she laid her eyes on the ominous view of a devastated control room. Computer console and control boards were blown up, smashed, and burned beyond recognition. She wouldn't know what would be worth fixing or what could be used for her plans.

"There's just one thing I need from this place, and it shouldn't be kept just in here." Dorothea stepped softly towards another door that was shut. She examined the seam, and saw the weld, like how it was described in the Jaegers' report. The door had been effectively sealed tightly shut. "Until now." Dorothea fished into her pockets and pulled out a small vial of yellowish fluid. "Thought this would come in handy, but it was still such a pain to get the vial fully laminated with the Alien's shed skin."

Uncapping the top, the Alchemist covered her mouth and nose, then pour Alien blood all along the welded seam

 _Fffzzzsssshh_! The acid-blood hissed voraciously as it rapidly dissolved composite metal. A short while had passed, when the acid completely fizzled out, leaving a gap on the door seam.

With no effort, Dorothea parted the sliding door, and exited into the corridor of a previously unexplored area.

 **U.S.S. Sulaco. Above the Empire's Atmosphere**

"Is this everything, Akame?" Hicks asked while typing numbers into a datapad "The weight has to be precise, so that the Dropship can be loaded to maximum capacity without overloading." Akame wheeled a dolly full of hard crates in front of the Corporal, and set its brakes "15 cases, plus the 45 already on the ship, makes 60."

Hicks nodded with approval "Get them up the ramp, and have them stowed." The red eyed young woman nodded, and steadily continued wheeling the cargo up into the belly of the Dropship. The Corporal then turned to the sound of whirring servos and hydraulics "How many more you've got, Ripley?"

"Last one." Ripley proclaimed from within the Power Loader's safety cage and operating frame. "Good." Hicks remarked "Take her away." The heavy equipment driver worked the controls, and the Power Loader lifted a large missile from a service dolly, and dexterously held up the high-explosive munition to a receptacle located on one of the Dropship's weapon pods. The receptacle then spun its rotary track conveying the missile out of the Loader's claw, and into a vacant launch tube.

"Clear behind!" Ripley sounded out, as she operated Power Loader's legs, and stepped away from the Dropship.

Inside the vessel, Leone, Susanoo, and an Incursio armored Tatsumi were lifting the cases off the hand-truck, and placing them in neat even stacks within the ship's hold. Lubbock and Chelsea would then tie down and secure the stacks. In the weapons bay, Najenda and Mine were going over the list of supplies and equipment the Marines were planning to transfer to the Revolutionary Army. Mine would describe the details of a listed item, and Najenda would determine which would be allocated, to maximize effectiveness.

The Commander of Night Raid was engrossed in thought "Hicks explained, a typical fire team would comprise of a smartgunner, two riflemen, two incinerators, and a special weapon of either a sniper or a bombardier." Mine fidgeted "Could it be done?" Najenda just shrugs "No choice. We'll have to tell Command, that our forces will need to be reorganized to get the most use out of all this gear. Sometimes, a situation would require a platoon to divide into smaller squads, so as to gain a more responsive strategy or minimize losses."

Mine "Is that why, you've plan to split up Night Raid?" The question wasn't chaste, merely formal curiosity. Najenda looked up at her Subordinate "When Ripley and Hicks decided to take up arms for Our cause, they've changed the game of conducting warfare. The rebellion never had as good a chance as this, in succeeding. But, that won't come to pass, if they remain focused on their main objective, exterminating the Aliens." She took the arsenal manifest, and begun folding it away "There's time before Night Raid has to play its part in the upcoming war. This could be Our only opportunity to hunt down and wipe out the Xenomorph threat. We owe it to Ripley."

Najenda worked several switches and buttons on her cybernetic arm, and the rig decoupled itself off her shoulder "But, all the same, I'm not about to throw away all Our lives on a whim. The Aliens have a lethal track record. The Colonial Marines, the Imperial Army, and even the Jaegers couldn't put a stop to Them. Now it's Our turn. Night Raid must succeed were others had failed and died attempting. And Were gonna be smart about it. If engaging in force isn't going to work, then a light reconnaissance might do it." Najenda clench her fist with confidence "We're not going in blind. We know What to expect. And We'll be ready for it."

A shuffle of boots sounded off from behind the two female assassins, and they both shifted their attention to wearing his Imperial Arm. "Everything's been stowed and secured, Boss." the silver armored fighter announced. Najenda took a gander of the Dropship's other occupants. Susanoo and Leone had started towards Akame who standing by on the side. Lubbock and Chelsea were just finishing tying done the remaining cargo. Hudson was walking up the loading ramp, with a large dolly carrying parts and tools to building a transmitter the ComTech said would allow constant communication to the Sulaco from the surface. And last was Bishop and Ripley in the cockpit, going over preflight checks and inspections.

"Better go tell Hicks, We're ready to leave." Night Raid's leader ordered. Tatsumi deactivated Incursio, and made his way down the Dropship's loading ramp. "Mine, get the others to their seats- Mine?" Najenda looked around to see were the pink haired young woman went, only to spy Mine's pink twintails whisk down the loading ramp after Tatsumi.

"Tatsumi, wait up." Mine called down as she trotted to catch up to the diligent young man who craned his head deep in thought.

Mine was growing agitated by her Comrade's lack of attention "Tatsumi!" The green eyed fighter jolted at Mine's outburst "Huh!? What?" The pink haired gunner frowned "I was calling for you to hold up. Where is your head at, right now?"

Tatsumi softened his furrowed expression, and answered "Ever since meeting them, Ripley and Hicks have been fighting Our battles with the Empire. Thanks to them, the Rakshasa Demons have all been wiped out, the Jaegers are reduced to almost less than half their number, and much of the Imperial Army has been broken and scattered." He strapped Incursio and its sheath across his back, then sighted his Tactical Shotgun before having it slung on his shoulder "It's time We step it up and hold Our own, as assassins of Night Raid."

Elated at seeing Tatsumi's bravado, Mine still showed a look of concern "You know, the team will be separated and sent on different paths for a considerable amount of time." Her expression grew more pressing "You're not worried, who you might be grouped with?" Tatsumi considered her question very briefly "Doesn't matter to me, who I'm going with. No one's gonna die on my watch."

The Genius Sniper huffed with slight annoyance, but kept up her determination "Tatsumi, listen." The young man paid attention and listened closely, as Mine bit her lip in hesitation and near embarrassment. "There's something I need to tell you." she finally spoke "Once this assignment is over."

Tatsumi was perplexed "Can't you tell me right now? Why wait?" Mine had started to blush and breath unevenly "No! Now's not the time. So, please promise me, you'll make time to hear Me out, after everything important is put behind Us."

"Okay." Tatsumi responded "If that's what you want, I'll do as you ask. I promise." Mine exhaled in relief, hoping she wasn't apparent in how flustered she was with her request. Beside the couple, Hicks walked up to them, and stood.

"Hey, you two." the Corporal asked "What's going on?" Both members of Night Raid spoke in unison "We're ready go." Hicks grinned and set his datapad aside "Well then. Let's go down there, and Get Some. Last one out gets the lights."

All hands assembled aboard the Dropship. Night Raid took their seats, and Hudson set about securing them in safety harnesses. "It'll be a hard drop on this one." the ComTech explained "Don't want anybody jumping out of theirs seats and break a neck." Leon shifted against the restraining bar, as is pressed up against her breasts "What if some Us are fine with breaking a bone or two." Hicks took a seat, and began securing himself "Then I'm going to insist you remain seated, so you don't wind up poking someone's eye out or smother them for that matter."

In the passenger cabin, Hudson was securing Akame's harness when she asked "Is the ride back down, really going to be so turbulent?" The ComTech bolted the safety bar in place, then answered "Afraid so. Atmospheric reentry has always been rough. That's just the way the physics works." Chelsea started to grow nervous "Are there any dangers or risk?"

Hudson finished off securing the last seat, before sitting himself "Not to worry, these Cheyennes are a cutting edge design. We haven't yet seen a shitstorm they can't handle. Even if We're having Ripley piloting." Chelsea didn't feel sure about the ComTech's response. Beside her, Mine snickered "Try not to pass out. Hehehe." Before the redhead could return a snide remark to the pinkette, she felt a hand touch her on the shoulder.

Chelsea turned to see Tatsumi seated on her other side. "It's going to be okay." Tatsumi spoke confidently "Bishop and Ripley know what they're doing." Chelsea nodded, and settled down. Then she grabbed the sleeve of Tatsumi's jacket without him knowing, and held on tightly.

Once Hicks saw everybody seated and buckled in, he spoke into his headset ["Okay, Ripley. Let's go."]

["Roger."] Ripley sounded out from the Dropship's PA speakers. _Wwrrrvvv!_ A loud whine sounded out, as the Dropship's loading ramp retracted close, then a higher, smoother pitched whine rose as the engine came to life _Zzsssrrr!_

Ripley began to announce the process of the drop procedures, just like how she remembered Ferro doing it, back when She and the Marines first set out on that fateful mission to LV-426 [Stand by. Cross-locking, now."] Suddenly, the ship's occupants felt everything shudder, as the docking crane came down and lifted the vessel off its landing platform.

Up in the cockpit, Ripley sat in the pilot seat, and was trying to familiarize herself with the controls and HUD screens. Behind her, Bishop sat in the co-pilot seat, going over the final checks for the drop sequence "DCS assimilation complete, Ripley." he announced "You're cleared for drop." The new pilot nodded without looking up, as she concentrated and threw several switches on the control panel, then she donned a headset ["Pre-launch cycle, engaged..."] The Dropship's landing struts retracted as well, and the landing platform underneath began to part open to reveal the drop bay.

["Primary Couplers released."] Ripley continued ["Hit the internals…"] The entire Dropship interior lurched, as the docking crane lowered The Cheyenne through the porthole, and down into the drop bay.

As the Dropship came to rest on the cross-locks, a sharp jolted shot up through the inside, and rocked the people within. "Shit!…" a voice cried out, though nobody could tell who blurted it. Everyone was caught up in the moment before the ship launches.

Ripley's voice sounded through the PA speakers once more ["Confirm, cross-locks and drop stations' secure."] Hicks checked again, to make sure that Everyone present was fastened securely, and there was nothing hanging loose anywhere. The Corporal then responded ["Affirmative, all drop stations secured."]

Above the Dropship, the docking crane receded, and the landing platform shuttered closed, sealing the Cheyenne from the Hangar. ["Stand by, Ten Seconds…"] At the bottom of the drop bay, a large hatch folded open to expose the compartment to vacuum.

Ripley placed her hand in the pilot controls ["Stand by, to initiate release sequencer…On my Mark…5…4…"] Back in the passenger cabin, all off Night Raid waited on Ripley's countdown, with mixed forms of anxiety. Najenda took a long deep breath. Lubbock covered his head, and braced. Susanoo quietly sat, and waited patiently. Leone took a long swig from a flask she had tucked away hidden in her tube top. Akame closed her eyes, and gripped the armrests of her seat. Tatsumi did the same, completely oblivious to Chelsea who had grabbed his arm and held on for dear life. Mine stifled a laugh, as she watched all her Comrade's get unsettled by the drop.

As for the other passengers, Hicks was starting to dose off, and Hudson was grinning and laughing "Ha! You all seem a bit tense." The ComTech reached over to a control panel, and pressed one of its buttons "Just chill, and enjoy the ride." What followed was an obnoxious tune blaring from the Dropship's PA speaker.

At the same time Ripley completed her countdown ["…2…1…Mark."] she then pressed a switch on one of her controls. The drop clamps released, sending the UD-4L Cheyenne plummeting below.

 **The hard rock tempo of guitar strokes and beating drums resounded throughout the passenger cabin, before giving way to harmonic vocalization** _ **[Revving' up your Engine. Listen to her Howling Roar. Metal under tension, Begging you to Touch and Go.]**_

Ripley worked the Controls, and the Dropship leveled off from freefall. She then throttled the jet turbines.

 **The music intensifies, as it erupted into the main chorus** _ **[Highway to the Danger Zone! Ride into the Danger Zone!]**_

 **Hadley's Hope, South of the Empire**

Dorothea stood inside a large room which, judging by the filing cabinets and the small desk with its set of accompanying chairs, seems to be an office. There was a sign reading 'Colony Administrator' stamped outside next to the door. She calmly approached the desk, and observed the clutter of typical essentials. stacks of files and paperwork, pens and markers strewn about, and an empty coffee mug balancing on the desk's edge as if threatening to topple over the side at even the slightest motion. Laying on the floor in front of the desk, was a long plaque with black etched lettering which spelled 'A. Simpson.'

The last two Items caught Dorothea's wandering discern. The first one was a postcard sealed in laminate and framed by glass

SHE'S ALL YOURS NOW, AL

YOU GOT THE REIGNS

TRY NOT TO WRECK HER ON YOUR FIRST DAY

JUST KIDDING, YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO, THAT EVERYTHING HERE IS TAILOR MADE TO BE USER FRIENDLY

IF YOU NEED TO GET AHOLD OF ME, I'LL BE ON SEVASTOPOL STATION FOR A WEEK LAYOVER

THEN IT'S ON TO ARCTURIA FOR SOME MUCH NEEDED R AND R

DON'T BE A STRANGER,

CURT.

Aside from the memento, the only other item of interest was a rectangular metal case kept shut by metal clasps. Dorothea quickly recognized the Portable Terminal, as it fit the description provided by Run's report. Eager to interact with such an intriguing gadget, she reached for the device, and undid the clasps. The computer terminal folded open, to display a myriad of buttons, switches, dials, and a display monitor.

"As I recall, the Jaegers discovered one of these terminals could provide extremely valuable information and convenient interface with corresponding machinery." Dorothea reminisced about Run's submitted report "Given that the device is connected to the right piece of equipment."

On presumption that the Portable Terminal may operate in a similar fashion to the computers she operated in the past, including the ones in Dr. Stylish's laboratory, Dorothea first pressed the button she recognized as the 'On/Off' switch.

A dull electrical chime sounded from the Portable Terminal's small speakers, and the monitor display started to light up. Shortly afterward, a string of glowing letters appeared at the center of the screen 'PLEASE INPUT COMMAND'

With a grin, Dorothea eagerly obliged and typed in a set of words "GIVE ME ALL AVAILABLE DATA ON COLONY FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT." The request remained on screen for a short instant, before being replaced by the computer's response 'ERROR. REQUEST FOR CLASSIFIED INFORMATION DENIED. PLEASE SUBMIT AUTHORIZATION CLEARANCE OR CONTACT THE FOLLOWING PERSONNEL: COLONY ADMINISTRATOR AL SIMPSON, CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER DR. BARTHOLOMEW REESE, COLONIAL MARINE COMMANDING OFFICER CAPT. DEMIAN BRACKETT.'

Dorothea nearly clenched a fist in frustration and disappointment. These colonist weren't foolish enough to leave anything critical for outsiders to meddle with. After a while, an idea formed in her mind, and she typed in a different command "WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED BY A PUBLIC GUEST USER?" A pause followed after the request was entered. Then the screen displayed an answer 'DAILY MAINTENANCE REPORT, COLONY PERSONNEL MANIFEST, AND SUPPLY INVENTORY AVAILABLE FOR ACCESS ON EXTERNAL DISK. SCHEMATIC LAYOUT OF COLONY INSTALLATION AND ATMOSPHERE PROCESSOR, AND PRIOR DATA INFORMATION LOGS AVAILABLE FOR ACCESS IN COLONY ARCHIVES.'

Feeling slightly relieved at some progress, Dorothea typed in one more command "CAN YOU SHOW ME ANY SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES MADE BY INSTALLATION PERSONNEL, ON LV-426?" An immediate response showed up 'ERROR. AVAILABLE DATA INSUFFICIENT. PLEASE REFER TO SCIENCE DEPARTMENT ARCHIVES. NOTICE: AUTHORIZATION CLEARANCE MAY BE REQUIRED TO ACCESS CLASSIFIED DATA. PLEASE CONSULT WITH CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER DR. BARTHOLOMEW REESE FOR ALL OTHER INQUIRIES.'

"Strange." Dorothea thought "Why would they bother compartmentalizing scientific data and research form the Main Archives." She glared down at the display screen, to review the options left to her "Those people, both Corporal Hicks and Lieutenant Ripley, and Night Raid would've cleaned out any viable supplies. And a list of dead colonists wouldn't be of any use to me, either." Dorothea typed In another command "ACCESS DAILY MAINTENANCE REPORT."

Up on the roof of the Operations building, Enshin paced back and forth with growing irritation. "She's hiding something. I just know it." He muttered, then drew Shamshir and eyed its blade. The Pirate had been so eager and many times tempted, to march downstairs, hold Dorothea at swordpoint, and force a straight answer from all her cryptic nonsense.

On the side of the rooftop, Izou stood vigilant like he was instructed to do, trying very hard to ignore his Companion's constant stream of voicing his discontent. His gaze swept from the Southern direction to the West where the larger ruin sat. "Even as ruins, these buildings are quite the marvel of constructive planning." he admitted "The only other place that could even compare to that building's size, is the Royal Palace itself."

"Even the fortresses in Soukai and Tenrou couldn't compare." The eastern swordsman thought back on his time on the Wakoku continent across the sea "I wonder if it was wise, coming to the Empire on Syura's invitation. Tenrou was on the brink of war with the other nations." With a sigh of disappointment, Izou gripped his scabbard "Please be patient, Kousetsu. Soon, you will be drinking to your heart's content-" Suddenly, Izou stiffened as he felt a familiar presence nearby. He had once already sensed this before, back in the Jaegers' camp, upon Wild Hunt's arrival.

Izou then quickly snapped his view towards his flank, hand reaching for Kousetsu's hilt, but then he stopped, unsure whether his sight was playing tricks on him due to being high above ground or for being in a strange environment. Eyes blinking with uncertainty, the swordsman kept his gaze trained on an eerie phenomenon happening above the roof of the other building where Wild hunt had discovered the vehicle ramp with fresh tracks leading from it. The object seemed like some sort of heat haze standing in place. Izou could see a distorted image of the scenery behind the haze, and there appears to be an outline in the shape of a person.

"Who goes there?" Izou called out, his hand gripping Kousetsu tighter "Show yourself." The haze began to bob slightly, as it shrunk itself to a shorter size like it was crouching.

The eastern swordsman was about to draw Kousetsu, until a something grabbed his shoulder, causing him to rotate and nearly attack, but held back as he saw it was only Enshin trying to get his attention. "What wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." the other man asked, while Izou quickly turned back to look across the causeway between Operation and the other building's roof where the mysterious haze was, only to find nothing there. The distorted image and all trace of anything seemingly irregular had disappeared.

"I thought I saw something." Izou explained. He then saw Enshin still had his on his shoulder, so he tugged himself free, and smoothed his haori "Death permeates this whole Colony. Who's to say the spirits of the dead don't still linger here."

After, straightening out his attire and properly sheathing Kousetsu's blade, Izou finally stated "But, I may have been mistaken. Which reminds me, I do recall hearing about a particular swordswoman from among the Jaegers. She apparently wields a katana Imperial Arm with an ability that can well in fact raise the dead to do her bidding." Enshin stuck his tongue out, and licked his lips ravenously "Oh yeah! I've heard about her too. And that She's a total cutie. I can't wait to get a taste of her." Izou held up his sword and scabbard in a challenging manner "Not, if my Kousetsu tastes her first."

Enshin's lustful anticipation quickly waned, and he once again brooded with vexation "Not gonna happen, for as long as we're away from the Capitol." He then drew Shamshir and idly inspected the blade's edge "Do you think it was a mistake, following Syura and Dorothea, and coming all the way out here to this dump?"

With a shrug of indifference, Izou took out a stalk of grass from the folds of his sleeve, and placed in his mouth to chew "As long as I can to feed Kousetsu as much as I want, I've got no complaints."

The Swordsman's response made Enshin even more perturbed "So, you're convinced of Dorothea's claim that some sort of superweapon lies within this place?" Izou cocked an eye toward the Pirate "She's not lying about that. I can assure you." He took one more glance at the spot where he had seen the strange haze, then at the large conic ruin beyond "Anything other that that, I can't say for certain."

Dorothea was in another office, busily rummaging through a large desk. Her eagerness to find access to the Science Archive spurred on by a recent discovery. Her head swam with fascination and awe, after gleaning the daily maintenance report on the Atmosphere Processor. "Power output of 1 tetrawatt…electromagnetic conductors...base catalytic fusion..." she can barely wrap her own intellect around the complex technical overview. The information had either confirmed, or in most cases, even expanded upon many forms of today's much debated quantum theories, such as nuclear energy, molecular recombination, and spectral resonance. So many technological advances spanning almost beyond the Alchemist's understanding.

"I need to find the root concept of it all!" Dorothea breathed frantically "There's got to be some sort of recorded plans or chart holding the actual math and equations, something that can tell me the actual science behind all of the systems and technologies." Her foot brushed something on the floor, and she looked down to see another Portable Terminal laying half folded on the floor.

"What?" Dorothea bent down to pick up the second computer, and set it properly on the desk in front of her. She studied the device, and noticed the screen was still lit. "Did this one get left on?" curiously about what was going on, Dorothea gently twitched a navigational stick above the keyboard, and the words 'SLEEP MODE OFF. RESUMING TASK: DECRYPTING RECEIVED TRANSMISSION'

DIRECTIVE 062379

DIRECTED BY : CLASSIFIED

RECIPIENT : DR. REESE, BARTHOLOMEW

…

NEW ORDERS FROM -

…

MAINTAIN COVER, AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED.

…

U.S.C.S.S. PATNA ON STATION NEAR MOTINEA, JUST BEYOND FIORINA 161

…

AWAIT EXTRACTION, AND REASSIGNMENT.

…

\- HAS PERSONALLY REQUESTED YOUR EXPERTISE ON THE SUBJECT.

…

BG-386

Dorothea tried to make sense of the message, and as far she can read from it, there had been something at work behind the scenes of the Colony's circumstances. Above the message, was a small tab labeled 'ATTACHMENT' She scrolled over and highlighted the second docket, then pressed the selection button. A different message then appeared on screen.

SPECIAL ORDER 941

PRIORITY ONE – ENSURE RETURN OF ORGANISMS FOR ANALYSIS

PRIORITY TWO – DISABLE ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO ICC AND COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION

ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS RESCINDED

COLONISTS EXPENDABLE

Dorothea took a long look at the message instructions, her thoughts churning with intrigue. "So, somebody knew about the Aliens…" she glanced around her surroundings "And they elaborately conspired to acquire Them discreetly. Even at the cost of this whole Colony." The Western Alchemist spotted a company logo on a wall to her side, and pondered as she stared.

"This Colony must haven been infiltrated by someone who served this Company's interests." Dorothea surmised. Her eyes then glanced at the first Terminal she picked from the Administrator's office "What if they had a way of bypassing access to sensitive material?" She put away the first Terminal she found, and began typing "SHOW ME ALL RELEVANT TECHNICAL DATA ON INSTALLATION'S MOST ADVANCED DEVICES. AUTHORIZATION: SPECIAL ORDER 941."

Syura held out Shambhala, and activated its ability. In a sudden flash of light and smoke, the tall stack of equipment in front of him had vanished without a trace. "Hrnn…" he wiped the slight perspiration of sweat from his brow, and leered at his Imperial Arm "Can't do so much of these teleportations. Each time takes a lot out of me." He sighed with impatience for this errand to finish, so that he may return to the Capitol.

"Cosmina!" barked the Prime Minister's son "How many more are left?" his teammate came by his side, and answered "Just the jars, holding those creepy hand things in them." Syura glared over at the small lab compartment, where the strange Creatures were being contained and studied.

"Where exactly is all this stuff going?" Cosmina asked. "Dorothea's personal lab." explained Syura "Back at Our new headquarters." The young Singer nodded in understanding, but was still put off by the sight of the dead Creatures. "You've travelled all around the world." she stated "Have You seen anything like These?"

Syura sauntered over to where the dead Specimens were being held "No, I haven't." Cosmina began to follow him "So, what could They be, do you think?" her leader took out and readied Shambhala "Some kind of spider, perhaps. They're bodies do look similar, except for the tail." After activating his Imperial Arm and transporting the contents of the makeshift laboratory, Syura started to walk towards Operations "Maybe Dorothea can tell Us, after she's taken a close look at Them."

Dorothea sat back in a chair behind the desk, completely beside herself with excitement. In front of her, the Portable Terminal lit up its display screen automatically scrolling down a vast array of technical specifications. "Yes, I'm starting to see and understand all the marvelous engineering and innovations. This can- no! This Will change the face of the entire World." She quickly got up and stood facing the exit. She now knew what she has to do, and that's to return all her findings back to the Empire, without delay. And without anyone knowing what she knows and what she plans to take, but if there's was anything left that mattered to those who were here before, they wouldn't have left behind such a prize. Especially if they didn't think it would somehow become a major threat to them, in Imperial hands.

"I guess it was all a waste for them, both Colonial Marines and Weyland-Yutani." Dorothea folded the terminal closed, and walked out the door "What matters, is that I got what I needed." She strode down the corridor heading for Operations- _Wwrrlrlrlrrkrkrk!_ And stood frozen in her steps, as an eerie warble of noise sounded off a ways behind her.

In mild surprise, Dorothea spun around and anxiously scanned the corridor behind her, only to find nothing there save for the crude barrier which closed off Operations from the rest of the Colony complex.

"Hello?" Dorothea spoke, wondering what made that sound. She kept her eyes peeled not wanting to overlook anything within range of her bioluminescence, but the only thing peculiar was that her sight seemed to get blurry whenever she looked straight down the other end of the corridor. "I guess my senses are getting dull." Dorothea remarked "I haven't fed in a while…" After a moment of stillness, she continued on heading back to her teammates.

"Maybe it was just the walls beginning to crumble from all the damage and neglect." the Alchemist reasoned, as she stepped through the door leading back into Operations. There, Syura and Cosmina stood waiting.

"All of the stuff's been sent back." Syura informed "Did you find what you're looking for?" Dorothea patted the device tucked under her arm "Sure did…", then she headed for Medical "Got all that I need, in here."

Syura threw an arm in front of her, to block the way "What the hell, Dorothea!? You've said We'd be retrieving something powerful enough to beat Imperial Arms" Dorothea paid his anger no mind, as she ducked under Syura's arm, to continue walking "And We will. We just need to go get it."

The Prime Minister's son chased with growing hostility "Well, where the hell is it!?" Dorothea stopped and contemplated whether she would have to defend herself from her teammate "You've already seen it. It's been outside, this whole time." She pointed out towards the window view from Operations, and past the gaping shutters

"I don't see anything. Just a blown out, oversized cone of a building-" the Foreign Alchemist reach out and grabbed Syura by his shirt, then with surprising strength, jerked him close so they'd see face to face. "Can you be able to transport the whole structure, base and all?" she spoke in a demanding tone that suggested refusal wasn't an option. The Prime Minister's son considered it, then patted Shambhala thoughtfully "It's gonna take no small effort, but I should be able to manage.

Suddenly, Enshin and Izou burst into the control room, from Med-Lab. "Heads Up!" Enshin yelled "We've got incoming!" From above, a distant roar grew as it descended from the skies above.

"It's them." said Dorothea "They've come back." Keeping her head down, she scooted over to the shattered window view, and gazed upward.

High above the Colony, the UD-4L Cheyenne dropped out of the clouds, and slowed its descent. Once it slowed to a halt, it hovered in place for a short moment. Then, in a rising whine of jet turbines, the Dropship sped off and darted for the direction to the South. The roar of flight engines droned away in the distance.

"It's gone." Dorothea announced, then she scooped up the Portable Terminal "But, they could be back. We mustn't be around, when they do." The Alchemist then made for Medical "We've gotten all We can gather. Now, We're out of time." She urgently gestured to her teammates, "Everyone follow me. Hurry!"

Nobody deigned to argue, and Wild Hunt quickly shuffled back into the corridor, down the stairs, and towards the exit.

Once the team was outside, Dorothea led them straight to the Atmosphere Processor. "How long will it take you to set up a portal?" she called out to Syura. "Not long." he answered, while starting to mark the ground "But, it would definitely shorten the length of time, if I had help." The foreign Alchemist threw a folded parchment over to the Prime Minister's son who opened and recognized the familiar yet heavily altered pattern.

"I've seen your formula, and made some improvements." Dorothea had already started to mark the ground with a similar pattern "Just make sure, you cover the whole structure. We'll meet on the opposite side, and complete the portal." She glared over at Enshin, Izou, and Cosmina "The rest of you stand back, but get ready to go, once we're done with this."

Three of Wild Hunt's members stood by, as the other two encircled the ground surrounding the Atmosphere Processor with Shambhala's modified portal marking.

As soon as Syura and Dorothea met on the other side, they immediately headed back to the front entrance, to join the others. "Be sure you set it to appear right behind headquarters." Dorothea commanded "If Champ hasn't been screwing around, he would have made the space ready by now." Syura toggled with the markings on Shambhala, until he got the reaction he was looking for. "There." He announced "It's all set."

Back at the front entrance to the processing station. The five members of Wild Hunt reconvened and stood ready.

"Here we go, Everyone!" Syura called out, as he held up his Imperial Arm, then concentrated. All around, the grounds lit up as the portal marking started to energize. Everybody looked away, when the light enveloped the building behind them. As all eyes looked forward, they all notice a strange blurry haze standing across from them.

"Does anyone see what I'm seeing?" Enshin pointed out to the distorted view. And before anyone could reply, a pair of yellow glowing orbs flashed from within the haze. Then, in the next instant, all of Wild Hunt and the building behind them vanished from where they stood, leaving a massively deep hole in the ground.

As silence returned to the barren valley the haze of distortion began to move in the direction towards the South. _Wwrrlrlrlrrkrkrk!_ Was the only sound to break the overwhelming stillness, followed by a modulated voice _"Night Raid, Move Out!"_

Chapter 12: End

Thank you for reading. Please leave a review, and any feedback really helps me stay focused and dedicated. If you have any questions, let me know with PM. And if you like the story, please tell a friend. Next chapter, the Heroes split and take separate roads, in pursuit of ensuring the World's safety. Unaware of the sinister perils that await them at the end of each road, as more dark forces enclose from where they're least expected.


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